Season's Greetings, Jack Frost
by Mystichawk
Summary: After the Nightmare War, Jack tries to celebrate like the others, but he can't shake the feeling that something is missing in his life. Then, presto! Jack saves the life of a mysterious girl out in the arctic and she ends up kidnapping him. Then even stranger events start to unfold as Jack learns about a mysterious group he's never met and a girl he has, but doesn't remember. R&R!
1. The First of the Rest- I HAVE RETURNED!

**Hello ladies and gentleman, yes, I have finally finished my editing and fixing up of this story. It took a long time, but I managed to get it done and now I'm fairly happy with the result. OK, so here's how it's gonna work: I'm going to delete every chapter bar the first one, so you guys get a fresh start. I changed a bunch of stuff around, added some stuff, subtracted the crap, yeah I'm a real mathlete. **

**I'm kidding. To all those who reviewed this story, thank you an- for those who want to re-review, you can either use a guest username that is yours so I know who you are and it'll show up, or send me a review via PM. I enjoy hearing from you all and hope that this version is better than the last. **

**Finally, to the Guest reviewer who sent me this amazing review: _Love this story, your imagination and depth of detail make it more believable than the movie. I can see your characters as I read. Please finish it. _Thank you so much. This review was what really inspired me to start this up again. I will be updating this story- and this story only -every week on Saturdays, so look for me then.**

**I hope you enjoy the new and improved SEASON'S GREETINGS, JACK FROST!**

* * *

A Christmas party at the North Pole is certainly something to see.

Yetis dancing, North challenging Bunnymund to a eggnog-drinking competition, elves getting tangled up in just about everything, (including themselves,) and Jack Frost doing what Jack Frost does best; playing tricks.

Said tricks included breaking into Bunnymund's room before the party and wrapped him in shiny pink Christmas wrapping-paper, tying it with a bow that said **Do Not Open Before Easter **and stuffed him under the Christmas tree where he'd woken up several hours later and tore his way out of the package in a raging fury, only to come face to face with a grinning Jack Frost. That had royally ticked him off and Jack had had to hide behind Phil to avoid the rabbit's fury.

Then, while North was out on _business_, he'd tricked the Yetis into thinking that North wanted everything themed in blue-

"Instead of the usual red and green. Red and green is sooo_ passe, _don't you think?"

They hadn't believed him at first, then he's said some more jargon about color patterns and it being _sheik_, whatever _that_ meant. He'd heard the phrases from Jamie and Sophie's mother, Mrs. Bennett, who was an interior decorator. North had screamed so shrilly when he'd gotten back from whatever business he'd been on that Jack swore he saw the windows crack. It had been hilarious.

Finally, his greatest feat- this month, was in the middle of the party when he'd dropped a string which was attached to a sprig of mistletoe over the heads of two unfortunate elves. North's elves _always_ obeyed the traditions of Christmas or risk their boss's wrath. Always. Every single tradition from hanging holly branches over windows and doorways to wrapping red silk scarves on all the doorknobs. And that included the tradition of kissing under mistletoe.

Jack laughed when the unfortunate and extremely reluctant elves planted a kiss on each others cheeks and then they scurried away from each other as quickly as possible, blushing redder than North's sleigh. Word quickly spread and for the rest of the party the elves stayed far far away from Jack.

Currently Jack was perched on the mantlepiece above the fire, watching all the Elves and Yetis and his five fellow Guardians mill around and talk, drink and laugh. As he watched the Elves begin a game of marbles and then end it just as quickly when a marble was hit too hard and ended up smacking an especially squat elf in the eye, creating an instant elf-brawl, he thought about how good it was to have a family again. True, no one would _ever_ be able to replace his human mother and father and little sister. No, they would live in his heart forever, but the Guardians were the closest thing he had and he knew they loved him like a son or brother.

One of his adopted brothers, namely Bunny, caught his attention when he threw up his paws in defeat and said, "I give up! North old man, you can sure down 'em!"

Jack smiled. During the beginning of the party, Bunny had made the mistake of challenging North to an eggnog-drinking competition. This turned out to be a very bad idea after they'd been at it for half an hour and Bunny was nearly falling down after his sixtieth cup of eggnog. North, who was Russian and liked his Eggnog mixed with Vodka and Rum, had been drinking since his sixteenth birthday and had been in more drinking competitions then Marion Ravenwood. Bunny had never had anything stronger than some Mike's Hard Lemonade mixed with carrot juice. He didn't stand a chance.

North smacked his bulbous belly and said, "Da! I am not even topsy!"

"The word is _tipsy_, North." Tooth said, hiccuping slightly. That rum-punch was making her a bit _tipsy_ herself.

"Bah! Tipsy, topsy, turvey, vhatever." North said, shrugging and trying to down another carton of eggnog spiked with vodka in one go.

Jack slid off the mantelpiece and dropped behind a particularly big Yeti, chuckling. Then he sent a line of ice that twisted and wove through the crowd until it got to North where it shifted it's form into a glass-like cup and North, mistaking it for a real cup, filled it with eggnog and drank deeply. About two-third of the way done he froze, staring at the cup intently with his bushy eyebrows scrunched together in the middle like a pair of black caterpillars He let out a laugh and shouted, "Good vun, Jack. You're getting better." the cup, as North had figured out, was made of ice and it chilled the eggnog, making it into a kind of alcoholic vanilla ice cream.

Jack bent down to take a leap and sprang up, flying over the crowd and dusting them all with powdery snow.

"That was a pretty simple gag, North." he said, floating several feet above the Guardians. He was trying not to laugh at Bunny, who was almost passed-out on the floor with a carrot in his hand. Jack turned until he was laying on his back and he lazily floated in mid-air, spreading another layer of dusting ice with his staff. "Maybe I should crank it up a notch."

Jack sat up slowly and revolved until he was floating horizontally in the air, then he closed his eyes and began to unleash the full power of his staff. First it was a thicker dusting of snow. Then, as Jack felt the power of his element return after so long a time of not being used to it's full potential, he took off flying around the edges of the round room, spreading his frosty fun. His ice spread all over the party decorations, turning the rich green and the blazing red utterly snow white.

He turned the stone walls of the party-room blanket-white with dazzling blue hair-line indentations that made lovely patterns and pictures. He transformed the ceiling into a blanket of white clouds and even brightened the white in North's salt-and-pepper beard. It was so... much... _fun_!

Jack opened his eyes and slowed his circling around the room, flying until he was twenty-feet up and standing on a cushion of cold air in the center of the room where he began to twist and whirl on the spot high above them, like a child with a toy, summoning white sparks and sending them shooting out of his fingertips. His eyes blazed with white light and when he was done and all the swirling of snow above him stopped, Jack just stood there floating in mid-air high above them, gazing in wonder at what he'd created.

It was beautiful.

"Vell done, Jack. You're learning fast." North said, clapping his enormous hands together. "Dis is de most amazing spectacle that I have ever seen." The rest of the Yetis broke out with applause and Sandy and Tooth clapped as well.

"Jack, this is _amazing_!" Tooth said, staring with wide eyes at the beauty around her.

Sandy nodded enthusiastically and gave Jack the thumbs up.

But the loudest applauder of all, the one who clapped and whistled and cheered like a whole stadium of sports fans all on his own, was Bunny.

Jack felt his heart swell with pride as Bunny, who had roused himself from the drunken stupor he'd been stuck in, stopped clapping and cheering to stare in wonder at the winter wonderland that Jack Frost had created.

"Wow mate," Bunny said, staring with wide eyes at the white world around him. Then he lowered his head and looked at Jack with something akin to pride. "I don't usually like winter, but in this case I've got to admit. . . this is the most lovely thing I've ever seen."

Jack's smile stretched from ear to ear and he let out a whoop of joy, leaping into the air and laughing with what could only be called utter happiness. He leaned in and coasted around the room, hugging the edges of the wall once more, just to savor the feeling of flying. Tooth had said it was amazing! North had called an amazing spectacle, and most importantly, Bunny said that is was beautiful.

North watched him all the time and sighed happily. There was so much wonder, happiness, beauty and love in the room that it almost made him want to cry, but he didn't. Instead he folded his arms and looked around the room with dreamy look in his eyes.

_Yes, dis is definitely vhat de 'appy endings are all about._

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Several hours later, after midnight was past by at least an hour and all but Sandy and Jack were feeling really really sleepy, North invited them all to stay at the North Pole for the night.

"I even have jammies!" he said, waving a pair of blue Christmas present-patterned boxer shorts.

Jack politely refused the pajamas, one because they were at least three sizes to big and they didn't have a drawstring and two because they looked suspiciously like they matched those horrid shoes the elves had tried to get him to wear on his first meeting with all the Guardians at the North Pole, and had opted to sleep in his hoodie on the roof. Bunny had also refused, saying that he had his fur and he didn't need any extra warmth but Jack had a sneaking feeling that he just was too embarrassed to wear them.

Sandy however took the pajamas with great enthusiasm and disappeared into one of the North Pole's many bathrooms. He'd reappeared ten minutes later, wearing the shorts so low to the ground that they looked like old-fashioned bell-bottoms. Jack laughed.

"Very stylish Sandman." he said, surveying the baggy golden pajama shirt made entirely out of dreamsand. It had a picture of a kid laying with his face flat into a pillow and snoring with exaggerated Z's. The caption read, in big bold letters,

**_I'm gonna knock you out!_**

Tooth thought this immensely funny and asked if humans made a shirt like that. Sandy didn't know.

"I want to have one that says the same thing as Sandy," Tooth told Bunny with one long, excited breath. "But with one of my girls on it raising her fist and a boy's head with tooth flying out!"

Bunny wasn't paying attention, his head hurt too much and he wanted to go to bed, but Jack raised his hand and said hesitantly, "Buuuuut, wouldn't that make the kids scared of you?"

Tooth shrugged. "I would wear it at home," she offered. "Of course I'd have to get wing-slits made in the back and it has to be brightly colored and-"

Bunny moaned and stumbled away from Tooth with his paws clasped over his ears. "Ohhhh man, I gotta hit the sack." He muttered just loud enough for Jack to hear. "That sheila has too bloody squeaky _normally_! This is like 'ell!"

Tooth heard that part and she cut off right in the middle of her rant about pink or neon orange. "HEY!" she shouted, zipping over to Bunny and glaring at him. "WHADDA YA MEAN _TOO BLOODY SQUEAKY?!_"

Bunny yelped and took off faster that a roadrunner and Tooth followed him, repeating her question and going a few decimals louder with each time. Jack shook his head and smiled. They were a pretty dysfunctional family, to be sure, but they were _his_ dysfunctional family.

Later, Jack was sitting on the three blankets that served as his bed cross-legged, still thinking of the incredible feeling he'd gotten while using his powers. He'd never attempted anything like that before and it had felt _amazing._ Like all of the snow and ice in the world had been shrunk down and pushed through his very veins! He sighed and flopped back onto his bed, staring up at the moon.

Bunnymund was curled up in the room two floors below and a door to the left. Tooth had opted for sleeping in the kitchen, which was the warmest place in North's castle. Jack, who didn't care about the cold, was relaxing on the roof where he'd made a small bed for himself out of a few blankets and a thin pillow. He'd slept in trees, he reasoned, so why should a roof be any worse? North had insisted on the blankets and pillow, however.

Jack smiled as he marveled at the vast expanse before him. The entire North Pole, complete with Aurora Borealis, glittering icecaps, and moonlit sky. He even saw a golden flicker in the distance that he assumed was Sandy, helping the children of the world get to sleep. He leaned back, with his arms folded behind his head and sighed with utter contentment. This was the happiest time he'd ever had on this world, and he was determined to make it last! There would be no Boogeyman uprising, no disbelief in him or the Guardians, and no more Bunny drinking. Jack had found he got extremely irritable when he was in a drunken state, believe it or not.

Jack stayed like that for sometime, just leaning back with his eyes closed, neither asleep nor awake. Just relaxing in the blissful calm of the night. He considered going down and seeing if there were anything interesting in the snow tonight, but he dismissed this idea quickly, preferring to just lay there and soak up the happiness which still hung about the North Pole.

Several hours later Jack was rudely woken up by a strange, sharp cry that rang through his ears and caused him to topple over in shock. The sound was like the cry of a young child and it sent a shiver down the back of Jack's neck, but he didn't dwell on that for long because when he toppled over his shoulder hit the roof and a shock of ice escaped from his fingertips, shooting out into the thick, snowy fog and disappearing, sucked up by the masses of snow.

He blinked, slowly realizing that no one was trying to hurt him and he sat up, gazing around. Just when _had_ he fallen asleep? An hour ago, or maybe more? It didn't surprise him that much. The snow was _sooo_ comfortable and _soooo_ soft!

Jack looked around and frowned. What was it that had woken him again? Some strange arctic beast, possibly, or maybe it as a Yeti having an accident with one of the chainsaws in North's workshop. He waited and listened. Nothing, for the longest time. Jack leaned back and closed his eyes again, slowly falling back asleep.

He was shaken out of his slumber, for the second time, half an hour later by the strange sound again. This time when he woke up he leaped to his feet, holding his staff in a defensive pose. Nothing attacked. Nothing even made itself known. All Jack saw was the whirling wind and the snow and all he heard as the strange sound, growing fainter and fainter, as if the person or persons making the noise was running away from the Pole.

He frowned, wondering if he were dreaming.

"If so, why the heck would Sanderson be giving me such a weird dream?" Jack wondered aloud, scanning the foggy expanse before him. It certainly _looked _like a dream, with all the fog and the weird noises. "If I _am_ dreaming, then the only way to make sure is to go back to sleep!" and saying so, he laid back down, snuggling down in the snow like it was a fine bed, which to him it was. He was woken _yet again_ by the sound not a minute later, and this time it sounded closer, rather than farther.

This time, before he had any time to think, Jack jumped to his feet and rolled off the tower roof and used the cold air currents and his now glowing staff to rise to the middle level of the tower. When he reached the proper height he turned his staff and began to zoom around the tower like he was on a surf board or a sled, circling the tower slowly and carefully, trying to locate the sound.

Again he saw nothing.

Well, that was not strictly true. He _did_ see something. Just not the something he wanted to see. The fog was lifting slightly and now Jack could see the blurry outline of the moon shining high above him.

"Well, hello." Jack said, choosing not to refer to the man in the moon by any of his given aliases. He just didn't feel comfortable calling him MiM or Manny. That was a thing for a more experienced Guardian.

The Moon was hidden by a passing cloud for a few seconds and then his light shone down on the brilliant white snow. To a normal person, it might've blinded them. To Jack, it just made his eyes dry.

"Care to shed some light on that weird noise?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and looking sardonically at the Moon.

Suddenly, as if in answer, a small ray of light shone down from the moon and illuminated the snowy ground below him. Jack's eyes widened as he took in the glistening blanket of icy diamonds that covered the ground as far as he could see. It was an amazing sight and he wished he had enough light for him and a few children to had a snow-ball war. The snow would be perfect. Not sticky or dusty, nor anything but perfect.

Jack gazed back and forth, searching for something. Anything. Anything that might've made that noise. A fox, a seal, even a polar bear! But he saw nothing.

Jack began to turn away in disgust and he was intent on going back to bed and forgetting all about the strange sound, it was too much trouble for him to be bothered with, when he saw a shape shoot across the snow blindingly fast. Instantly he was alert, scanning the snow for the shadow, wondering if it was the cause of the crying he'd heard.

_It sounded like a child, _Jack thought. _But...why would a child be __**here**__? There can't be a house or village around here for miles!_

Jack looked and looked until he finally caught sight of the shape as it ran through the snow. He leaped to his feet and instantly took off for it, reasoning that he should be able to get a closer look of he were careful. As he flew Jack noticed that whoever it was was leaving tracks behind them.

"Excellent." Jack whispered to himself. "That means I'll be able to follow them easier!"

And follow them he did, keeping several yards behind the shadowy figure which moved with the fluid movements of an experienced runner. As he got closer, and it was not easy to do as the shape moved faster than he could, Jack could make out a brown hooded cloak and small bootprints. _A child, _he thought, frowning. _But __**why**__ would a child be __**here**__?_

He was a few feet away from the cloaked child now, and they hadn't noticed him at all.

"Hey," he called, trying to grab hold of the cloak. If he could catch them, maybe he could help them back to wherever they came from because they was obviously lost. Why else would a little kid be in such a place like this?

The shape turned around and, for just a second, Jack saw a flash of brown hair and very wide eyes. It was a girl.

"Hey, kid, I'm not going to hurt you. Just wait a minute!" Jack said, flying even faster now, trying to keep up. His staff was vibrating beneath his feet and the wind whipped past him and bit at his face like needles. The snow began to get thinner and thinner, partly because of Jack and partly because of the moonlight that was shining down on them, chasing away the darkness and lighting up the whole area. The moonlight also sent white sparkles dancing across the ground and the Jack wished that the child would just stop for a minute to enjoy the beautiful scene around her. Or at least stop running for a few seconds so that he could rest and regain a bit of energy.

As if she could hear his thoughts and wanted to do just the opposite just to spite him, the girl began to run even faster now. _Faster than humanly possible, _Jack thought as he finally got close enough to touch her again and he closed his free hand around the hood of her cloak. "Please, stop!"

The girl thrashed and twisted as she ran, trying to shake Jack off but he held on grimly, shouting "Stop!" over and over again. She ran faster and faster. Jack felt like he was a little kid being pulled by a sled-dog, only this sled-dog was supersonic.

Then, before Jack could even blink, the girl tripped over what Jack assumed was protruding piece of ice or maybe a rock and it sent her sprawling head over heels. Jack had just enough sense to let go of her hood before went rolling away, screaming and yelling in a language he had never heard. Or maybe several languages.

"Dumm gestrahlt Eis! Allt gick perfekt! Pochemu ya ne smotret', kuda ya sobiralsya?!"

* * *

Translated from German: Stupid blasted ice! Translated from Swedish: Everything was going perfectly! Translate from Russian: WHY DIDN'T I WATCH WHERE I WAS GOING?!

* * *

Jack raised his eyebrows and watched in amazement as the girl fell over and over, screaming and cursing. That was... two- no, _three_ languages. Three different languages the girl had screamed in and she still kept rolling over and over again in the snow. Eventually, after a lot of cursing and screaming and snow being kicked everywhere she began to slow and then finally halted, coming to rest on her back with the hood twisted over her face, breathing hard.

Jack, who had been following her as fast as he could, came up short beside her and hopped off his staff like you would a skateboard, holding it loosely in his left hand as he walked slowly towards the shivering girl.

"Hey, you OK?" Jack asked, moving slowly towards her. If he came too fast she might get scared and try to run again, but he doubted that she'd be able to run on that ankle.

Jack heard a moan and then saw the girl reached up with a dark hand towards her face. The effort obviously hurt the girl and he leaned forward and stretched out his own hand to help her.

"Here," he said, taking hold of the cloth with thumb and forefinger and pulling the brown cloth away from her face, revealing her dark skin, red nose and half-open brown eyes. Those brown eyes stared into Jack's face and Jack stared into those brown eyes. They were soft and gentle, but there was a slight hint of fear in them. That made him feel more that a little uncomfortable.

"Hey, listen, you don't have to be afraid of me." he said gently, sitting down soundlessly beside her. "I'm a spirit. A winter spirit. My name is Jack Frost."

The girl's eyes widened at the word _spirit_ and Jack said hurriedly, "No no, I'm not a _bad_ spirit!"

Up in the mountains there were many cultures that believed in spirits, like him, but referring to them as demons and monsters which plagued them and caused them grief and terror, and this girl's village was obviously one of those cultures. The idea that spirits hurt humans on purpose was actually ridiculous, most of these so-called spirits being just natural disasters which the humans decided to blame on their ghouls and deities, and most spirits preferred to _help_ the humans out whenever they could.

Jack bent down until he was at her level and he cupped his hand beneath her chin. Now that he saw her face, he realized that she wasn't as young as he'd thought she was. Here he'd been trying to comfort what he'd thought was a young girl, but she was really about his age. Fifteen or thereabouts. She was pretty.

"I'm Jack Frost, the spirit of winter." he said gently. "I take care of child- people, like you in wintertime." Alright, not _strictly_ true. His department was fun, not safety. _That_ duty fell on other spirits. "Tell me where you live," he added. "And I'll take you home."

The girl lowered her head, forcing him to let go of her chin and mumbled something.

"I didn't catch that," Jack teased, cupping a hand around his ear.

She kept her head down for the longest time, then-

"I got lost." she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. Luckily she said it in English and Jack had excellent hearing, so he understood it clearly. He felt a smile crinkle across his mouth.

"Really? In this place?" he said, looking around at the winter Tundra around them. "Huh. That's surprising."

The girl's head shot up and she gave him a hard glare, to which Jack responded with a cheeky grin.

Her glare was fixed on him for a while but as she spoke her face began to relax and gradually a small smile crept onto her lips. "I vas on my vay to my mother's." she said in a slightly stronger tone. Jack noticed the Russian accent tinting her tone. Huh. North might like this girl too. "Avalanche killed my father and brother and half our village a few veeks ago and I vas sent to find my mother's village so that I could stay vith her."

Something in the pit of Jack's stomach hardened as he listened to her story. An avalanche. The raw power of snow and ice. That was what had killed people this girl had loved. It made him physically ill to think that something he had control over had taken lives, though it happened every years. Avalanches, ice on the roads, black-ice and even the occasional death in a hailstorm. It horrified him to think that the element which made fun and joy, his snow, could take lives and send a poor girl like this out into the winter tundra with nothing but a thin hooded cloak.

"I'm...sorry about your family." he said honestly. How long had it been since he'd seen a child orphaned by an avalanche? Ten years? Less?

"It eez no matter." she said shortly. "Dey died. I lived. Dat is de vay of things."

Jack leaned back on his haunches uncomfortably, unsure why she was so indifferent to her family's deaths. Shouldn't she be crying her eyes out right about now?

As if she had read his mind once more, the girl looked him in the face and said darkly, "It doesn't matter. Dey are dead and I am alive. My father taught to not pity or mourn de dead, but to rejoice in being alive."

Jack nodded. That didn't sound like a northerner's idea, but he wasn't in a place to judge. He and his sister had stoically kept their eyes plain and fresh from tears in front of others and hadn't shown how sad they'd been. Then, in their private moments, they had let the flooding tears loose and mourned their parent's deaths truly.

"How long have you been traveling?" he asked, half to change the subject and half because he wanted to know the answer. He looked at her frosty brown boots and her patched brown cloak, thinking that it looked like she'd been walking for _at_ _least_ a day and a half.

The girl shrugged. "A veek, maybe more.

Jack's eyes widened. "A _week_?" he said in disbelief. "Where's your food? Your water? How did you keep warm?"

The girl smiled grimly. "I lost my food in a snowstorm, not sure vhen. Vater I get from snow." she picked up the hem of her cloak and offered it to him. "Lined with yak and polar bear fur. Very varm."

Jack reached out and felt the lining of the cloak. Instead of the usual frost that covered everything he touched he was surprised to feel warmth on the tips of his fingers. "Wow. That's interesting." he said, rubbing the cloth between his thumb and forefinger. Not a single drab bit of frost coated the inside of her cloak.

She nodded and he released the cloak. "Very varm." she repeated. "Keeps me alive."

Jack nodded. "Do you know how far your mother's village is from here?" he asked, wanting to gain as much information he could so that he would be able to get her to the right place in the morning.

The girl shrugged. "A day's valk from here, maybe more."

Jack raised his eyebrows again. "A day?" he repeated. He didn't believe this. There was no way she planned on going all that way without food. And _alone? _Forget it! "You plan on walking all the way there?"

"I valked this far." she said defensively, folding her arms sullenly. "And anyvay, I saw a big house a while ago. Really big, like castle. The moon showed me."

Jack nodded. She must mean Santoff Clausen. "Listen," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder once again. "I have some friends who live close to here, in that castle. They have food and water, a place for you to sleep, and we'll help you to your mother's village in the morning."

The girl looked up sharply. "Why should you vant to help me?" she asked suspiciously.

Jack smiled. "I'm a spirit. I help people." he said, by way of an explanation.

The girl's gaze hardened. "Yes, you are a spirit." she said slowly. "A spirit whom I have never heard of."

Jack sighed. Of course she wouldn't have heard of Jack Frost. That was his American name.

"What about Jokul Frosti?" he asked, watching her face carefully for a sign of- There! He saw her eyes widened visibly and Jack smiled at the look of awe on her face. That was obviously a name she recognized, and why wouldn't she? She was _Russian_, after all. Jokul Frosti had been the name given to him by the Northmen in the seven-hundreds. They believed him to be what they called a Jotun or Frost Giant and the Russians, being descendents of the Northmen, believed in the same types of spirits.

"J- Jokul Frosti?" she repeated, stammering his northern name. Jack's smile shrunk by a couple millimeters. Was she _scared_ of him?

"Yes, but I'm not like the spirit you've been told about." he said as gently as he could, patting her shoulder. "I don't lull humans to sleep in the snow and then leave them to die. I don't play tricks on humans- well," he amended, giving the girl a wink. "No tricks that hurt anyone or cause more than a few sore rear ends."

The girl laughed, then she blinked and her face became a bit more somber. "How far is this place you speak of?" she asked cautiously.

Jack jerked his head behind him. "Not far that way. I can take you there right now," he added, smiling.

The girl's eyes widened still further. "H- how?" she asked faintly. Jack detected a slight strain in her voice, like she was barely conscious.

"Are you alright?" he asked, peering at her face closely.

"I'm f- fine." she stammered, trying to smile but ending up grimacing. "It's just a bit...chilly here."

Jack blinked, then he realized that it was at least three degrees, maybe less, and that humans _died_ in weather like that.

"I'm fine, honestly." she said, grinning widely, revealing her white teeth. _Tooth would like her, _Jack thought. She looked perfectly happy and even a little giddy. He didn't believe in it for a second.

"You're fine." he snorted. "Right. You've probably got frostbite already and here I am, talking to you like we're in a nice cozy igloo!" Jack's voice had gradually grown quiet and angry, though he was angry more as himself that at the girl. She'd done nothing, of course. "I've got to get you out of here!" And so saying he reached forward and tried to slip his hands underneath her armpits to pick her up.

"No no, really!" she said quickly, raising her own hands to try and ward off Jack's hands as he tried to hold on to her. "I just have to r-r-r-rest for a bit."

"Not _here!_" Jack moaned, taking hold of the neck of her cloak and pulling. "We need to-"

Jack's futile efforts were interrupted by a loud, eerie howl that sounded from the top of a snow drift. Wolves.

Jack's eyes widened. He'd never met a wolf face-to-face before, but he'd heard tales of children taking short-cuts through woods that had a reputation for wolves and never being seen again. It was a daunting prospect, being eaten by wolves. Of course, nothing like that happened nowadays, The closest thing you got to wolves in the general populated area was starved pittbulls.

_These wolves were probably starved too,_ Jack thought flatly. _It's winter, yeah, but it's always winter here. The caribou migrate past here every few months and that keeps the wolves alive, but this was the middle of winter and the caribou would be huddled in packs to keep warm._

Jack and the girl both kept still and silent, listening to the howl rise and fall. The voice of the arctic wolf was captivating and they stayed motionless until the voice fell. Jack tore his eyes away from the hill and looked back at the girl. She was still looking at the hill and he saw the cold fear in her chocolatey eyes.

"OK, I take it back." she whispered, her stare unwavering from that snowy hill. "I'd like to get out of here, please. Now."

Jack nodded. "Can you walk?" he asked.

She shook her head, finally breaking her gaze away from the hill to look at him. "No. Ankle." she gestured to her left leg.

Jack glanced down at the leg, which was laying on the snow at an acute angle, and saw that there was an indefinable lump underneath the material in her boot.

"Swollen?" he asked.

"I don't know." she said, shifting her leg a fraction. This obviously hurt her quite a lot because she grimaced and added, "Maybe broken."

"No." Jack said decisively. "If it were broken, you'd be screaming."

"Thanks for that." she muttered, bracing herself against the ground with her hands and breathing hard, trying to get up the energy to push herself up.

"Here, let me-" Jack said, reaching with his other arm to try to pick her up and carry her. _It would be __**so**__ much easier, _he thought._ And it would cause her less pain!_ But she stubbornly leaned away from him and said,

"No! I can do it!"

"Alright, alright," Jack said, holding his hands up and letting go of her for all but her left arm to keep her steady. Then he smiled and added slyly, "If you want to get eaten by wolves just because you're stubborn about accepting help, then be my guest. I'm not alive, technically, so I can't get eaten by the creatures that are coming right over the hill."

The girl's eyes widened. Her head snapped up to stare at the snowy hill and her eyes widened again. "They're coming!" she gulped, staring at the wolves. Jack was about to put a hand around her shoulder to comfort her again. Even thought she wasn't a kid, she was still practically scared to death, not to mention half-frozen, then he caught sight of her deep brown eyes and he stopped with his hand hovering just over her back.

She was staring with undisguised fear, that was something he expected, but there was something else in her eyes, deep beneath the fear. A strange, bright blaze. Jack could see power and order and intensity in those eyes. Her gaze was intense and though her eyes were bright and forceful, her face never wavered from it's frozen expression of fear.

Jack blinked, staring at her. The look of intensity she was giving those wolves was so cold. And yet. . . and yet it also looked commanding and fierce. It was almost like she was speaking to the wolves through it's eyes, ordering it to wait a few seconds. All these expressions were so disconcerting. It almost scared him. Then the look faded and she was back to staring with fear at them. This quick change unnerved him and he resolved to ask her about it later, but he had more pressing things to worry about. He needed to get her out of here!

"Yes, and they're going to_ hunt you down _and **_kill_**you if you don't let me _help you!" _Jack hissed in her ear.

The girl gulped again and slowly nodded. "OK." she whispered. "OK. Do whatever you want, just get me out of here, please!"

"I can't do it alone." Jack said simply. He could see the wolves standing in a straight line of six on the snowy hill, their white pelts shining in the moonlight. They stared down at him and the girl with drool hanging from their jaws and the occasional howl escaping from their mouths. If Jack hadn't been a winter spirit and therefore quite impervious to them, he assumed he would have goosebumps.

"What can I do?!" the girl cried, almost hysterically.

"Put your arms around me." Jack replied. "Put them around my neck and hold on tight!"

The girl broke her gaze with the wolves and let out a short laugh. "Ha!"

Jack blinked. "I fail to see anything funny in that."

"I say again, _ha_!"

Jack stared at her. She was sitting in the snow beside him, without food or water, wolves were surrounding them and her leg was splayed at an odd angle. Yet here she was, laughing.

"I think the frostbite's getting to your head." he said derisively. "I'd better get you out of here." here he tried to pick her up again by wrapping his thin arms around her and she let out a gasp of pain.

"That's what I've been trying to say!" the girl wheezed, squeezing her ankle in an attempt to stem the pain. It didn't work. She gasped again and closed her eyes against the pain. "I- ah! _Can't stand up_!"

Jack would've bit his lip if he could. "Oh, right." he thought for a few seconds. The wolves were descending down the hill now and the girl kept looking over her shoulder at them. Her face got whiter and whiter each time she looked. "Well, I think you're going to have to grin and bear it. I'm not leaving you here to die."

Jack tried to lift her, but she groaned in pain and he set her down once more. "I can't!" she gasped. "I can't!"

"You can," Jack insisted. "Just grin and bear it, stay awake and hold on tight to me when I left you up."

"When you lift me-" the girl said quizzically, then recognition dawned on her face and her eyes widened to saucer-size. "No, no no no no NO!"

"Yes." Jack said. Then he raised his staff, which he'd propped up against his thigh and wrapped his hands around her torso. Power coursed through his staff and he heard the familiar sound of dogs barking and the sound of crunching snow. "It's time to go." and with that he rocketed upwards, towards the sky and the moon. The wolves howled in fury and they lunged towards the rising boy and girl.

They missed.

Jack flew up and up, rising high past the clouds and farther. He could see the stars and they winked at him as he flew past. He planned on going high, then staying above the cloud line until he could see the North Pole. He rose up and up until the moon became clear behind filmy clouds. The closer they got, the bigger and brighter the moon got. It's glow shone against the snow and by it's light he could see the pack of dark shapes streaking along below them.

_The wolves,_ he thought. _They must still be trying to get us. Well, I'm not going to make it easy for them. _Jack rose higher and higher until the moon was directly above girl's eyes widened as she looked up and Jack tightened his hold around her middle.

"It's OK." he said. "Just hold-"

"The moon!" The girl gasped. "It's smiling at me!"

Jack looked up and sure enough, the craters and shadows on the moon made it look exactly like the moon was smiling down on them. The moon was reflected in the girl's eyes, making them shine.

Then, suddenly, Jack felt the girl go limp in his arms. He looked down and saw that she had fainted. Her hands were still draped around his neck but the only thing that was keeping them there were her fingers laced together.

"Hey," Jack said, shaking her. He was floating in mid air, using the air currents to keep himself stationary and tried to wake her up by wiggling the arm that was holding her and bouncing her up and down, but she didn't stir.

"Hey, wake up!" he said, louder this time. She didn't move an inch. Jack sighed. So the girl had fainted on him. Great. Now he would have to get her back to North's _doubly_ fast.

When human bodies slowed their movement in the cold, the cold took advantage of this and infected the appendages of the body that were farthest from the heart. Namely, the toes and fingers. Her other body parts would freeze slowly in these temperatures unless he got her to some warmth quickly, so Jack shifted his grip until her head was leaning against his shoulder and her body was pressed close to his, raised his staff to gather the air currents and used his staff to propel him and the girl off towards Santoff Clausen.

Ten minutes later they made it to a balcony that was on the top floor. Jack was tired and he'd used quite a lot of energy to fly that far that fast, so the landing was a little rough. Namely, Jack dropped in through the open window and then practically fell over with exhaustion. He hit the cold stone but it didn't hurt and the girl flopped down next to him. Jack heard a crack and he winced. The girl had probably cracked her head. Great. Just what he needed.

Jack groaned and grudgingly got to his feet. He needed to help the girl first. Help the girl and then he could lay down in a nice bed of snow for a week to hibernate. Jack bent down and lifted her head up slightly, pulling her hood away from her face with his other hand. Her eyes were closed and she showed no signs of life. Jack felt around on the top of her head. Nothing. He saw no blood, so she hadn't cracked her head. It had just rattled her.

Jack bent down farther and jimmied his hands under her body, careful not to touch anything he shouldn't, and slowly picked her up. She was like baby in his arms and Jack felt completely responsible if she froze to death. He couldn't let that happen. She needed to get to her family and he promised himself as he walked over to the nearest table that she would live to see them.

Jack laid her on the table and, after making sure that she was peaceful, turned and ran to the door.

"North!" he bellowed, clutching his staff. He had to lean on it and hobble like an old man. "Tooth! Bunny! HELP!"

All Guardians were awake in an instant and running up the corridor that led to the balcony. North burst through the door first, carrying his giant twin swords and looking every inch like the fearsome Russian warrior he was. Every inch, except all the inches covered by the green present and candy-cane patterned pajamas and fuzzy Rudolf slippers he wore on his feet.

Next came Tooth, wearing a big green shirt loaned to her by one of the smaller female Yetis with slits for her wings. She had her hands raised in a comical Chinese fighting style position and a fierce- but sleepy -look on her face.

Then Sandy, wearing his baggy dreamsand shorts and golden **_knock you out _**shirt. He was completely awake and held his golden dream-sand whips at the ready, looking around the room for the reason of Jack's distress.

Lastly came Bunnymund, also displaying a eastern style fighting stance with his boomerangs held in each paw and raised above his head. He also had three egg bomb grenades strapped to a loop around his waist. He had no sleepy-time attire that Jack could see.

They all rushed in, yelling battle-cries and flailing their weapons around. Then they realized that there were no visible adversaries and they dropped their weapons.

"Jack?" North asked, being the first to notice the winter spirit. He was hobbling over to the table and as he turned around to face the Guardians they saw his face was paler than usual.

"Jack, vhat are you doing?" North asked, looking at Jack with furrowed eyebrows.

"Yeah. It's hard enough to sleep around here without you wakin' us up in the middle of the night." Bunnymund said, sheathing his boomerangs and scratching behind one ear.

Jack rolled his eyes and said, "Listen, when I was up on the roof I heard a voice crying, so I went to check it out."

North sighed and sheathed his swords. "It vas your imagination playing tricks on you, Jack. Go back to sleep." They all turned to go but Jack sent a quick blast of cold air to close the doors.

"Listen, please!" he said, jumping over them and landing in front of the door with his arm outstretched, blocking it. "There was a girl in a brown cloak out there! She saw Santoff Clausen and, thinking it was a castle, made for it." he stopped talking and a wave of pain came over him. He leaned against the staff heavily. His stomach felt like two snakes were going at it inside.

North glanced at Tooth and Bunnymund. "Jack, that's not possible." Tooth said, looking sideways at North. "This place, and all our homes, are shielded from normal human's eyes."

"Well, you magic must be defective or something, because the girl swore she saw it." Jack said. "Anyway, that doesn't mater. She said that she has family near here and that her mother's village is a week's walk from here."

North looked at the others and then put a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack, it must've been all dream. Though I'm not sure why Sandy gave you one like that," North paused and frowned, turning to look at the little man who had put away his dream-sand whips and was staring at Jack.

When he heard his name Sandy looked up and raised his hands like _Hey, it wasn't me._

Jack groaned and said, "Look, I don't have time to argue. She's here, and she needs help!"

North, Bunnymund, Sandy and Tooth's faces all blanched.

"What? There's a human, _here_?" Bunnymund asked, looking around.

"Over here," Jack said, grabbing hold of North's arm and pulling him to the table. The other two followed and their jaws dropped when they saw the girl, wrapped in her brown cloak laying on the table.

"Did you get a name?" North asked seriously. Obviously he didn't think Jack as dreaming anymore.

"No," Jack said. "I told her I'd take her here and then she fainted when she saw the Moon smiling at her."

The other Guardians looked up sharply. "Manny?" North asked. "Smiled at her?"

"We were far up," Jack explained. "The shadows and craters made it look like the moon was smiling."

"Ah." North said. "Happens to the best of us. But why did she faint?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know. Shock? Exhaustion? Which, for the record I'm very close to doing."

The Guardians looked at him and for the first time seemed to notice Jack leaning on his staff.

"Oh, Sweet Tooth are you alright?" Tooth asked, flitting around to Jack and looking him up and down. Then she checked his teeth. "You didn't get hurt?"

"No." Jack said, brushing her away. "A couple wolves chased us but they didn't get her or me. I'm just tired." Jack leaned against the wall. "Anyway, I'm not the primary issue here. You guys have got to help the girl first."

North nodded. "Aster, can you go tell Phil to get warm blankets and pillow?"

Bunnymund nodded and headed off.

"And a bowl of warm water." Jack called to the retreating rabbit's back. Bunny turned and nodded. "I had to hold her to get her here and it might have given her frostbite." he explained when he saw Tooth and North's puzzled looks. "I didn't mean to," he said quickly, raising the hand that wasn't clutching the staff.

"No no, of course not Sweet Tooth." Tooth said, rubbing his shoulder gently.

"No one will blame you, Jack. It's your nature." North said absentmindedly. He bent down until his beard was almost brushing her face and scrutinized her carefully. "Hmm. She doesn't look familiar, but she does have the same skin tone as locals of this area. Though I don't know of any village a veek's valk from here." North turned to the others. "Tooth, can you help?"

Tooth flew closer and looked the girl up and down. She put her hand over the girl's mouth and said, "She's still breathing." then she put her hand to the girl's heart. "But her heart rate is faint. I don't know if she'll make it, North."

Jack leaned on his staff and bowed his head. If the girl died, it would be because of him and him alone. Because he hadn't gotten there in time or he hadn't held her right, allowing frost to creep into her bones. He stared down at the dark-skinned girl and wondered. . . _who was she?_


	2. Number Two and Number Three COMBINED!

**Hi everybody. Thank you so much for the review, Guest. I know this thing'll take a while to get supporters again, so I hope to see many more reviews.**

**Quick question: Guest, are you the same Guest who reviewed before? If so, thank you. it was your review who allowed me to continue this. If not, then thank you anyway.**

* * *

Jack stayed at the girl's side for several hours. Then, when Sandy threatened him with a dreamsand ball if he didn't get some rest himself, he finally relented and went to sleep in the room next door to the one Phil had put her in. It was a small room with a window that was firmly closed and a fireplace that was roaring. The other Guardians filed in for a status report from Tooth, having left the girl in her care for the last five hours.

"She's breathing stably," Tooth informed them as she checked the girl's heart rate once again. "Her heart rate is normal and she isn't showing any signs of frostbite. I checked her toes and feet an hour ago and they all seem perfectly normal." She looked up and there was a broad smile on her face. "And her teeth are just fantastic! Whiter even than Jack's!" Tooth pulled the girl's mouth open and inspected the girl's teeth carefully. "It's amazing, really. No signs of broken enamel, no signs of brushing even but here they are, whiter than pearls-"

"Tooth," North interrupted sternly. "Fingers out of unconscious girl's mouth."

Tooth looked up and grinned sheepishly, removing her digits from the girl's mouth. "He he. Sorry. Force of habit."

"What I want to know is," Bunnymund interrupted. "Who is she? And how did this little Sheila get here? You _said_ ordinary humans weren't able to get through here, right?"

This one was directed at North and he shrugged. "Maybe she's not human, maybe she is other spirit."

Sandy made a few signs and Bunny nodded. "But Jack said that she acted and talked like another human," he pointed out.

Tooth nodded. "And she breaths." she added. "That makes it seem likely that she is human."

"Or she just very good at faking it," North countered.

Bunny sighed. "North, what kind of crazy immortal would nearly get frozen to death, just for the sake of breaking in to Santoff Clausesn?" he demanded.

"You'd be surprised, Bunny. Many people, including Jack, tried to break in to workshop. Many used drastic actions."

Bunny sighed. "North, she's just a human out in the cold who needs help and nourishment. We need to keep her alive, keep her safe, then take her to her family. That's it. She's just a kid."

"She's as old as Jack," North said tersely. "I feel that she is something more than human. I feel it, in my-"

"Lemme guess, _in your belly_?" Bunnymund said sarcastically. "Mate, you're just jittery because of too much eggnog at the party last night. Ya got indigestion, not some vast cosmic reservoir in ya stomach."

North and Bunny's voices had steadily started to rise and, though Tooth and Sandy tried to shush them, they continued to argue.

"So she looks human, so vhat!" North said angrily, his voice cranking up. "That doesn't mean she's-"

North was interrupted when Sandy finally got sick of being ignored and used his dream-sand to make a huge set of cymbals in each hand and he crashed them together right beside Bunny and North, making them both jump. The noise was silent but they stopped arguing immediately and looked at him anyway. Sandy pointed to the girl, who was sleeping soundly, and frowned.

"Oh, sorry Sandy. You're right." North said, looking properly ashamed of himself. "We should continue this discussion elsewhere." then North and all of the Guardians, even Tooth, stepped quietly out the door. All of them, except Sandy.

Sandy stayed because something about this girl was setting off his internal dream-radar and, when the other Guardians left he bolted the door and stared down at the girl. She wasn't completely restful. He could feel it. Her face was blank and smooth and she barely moved, but Sandy could see the subtle signs. The twitch of her eyes under her eyelids and the barely noticeable twitch of her hand as it lay on the blankets North had given her.

Tooth had taken off her cloak and boots and had tucked blankets in and around her until she was trussed up tight and toasty-warm. Sandy smiled. Tooth had motherly tendencies, there was no doubt about it. Sandy bent down and laid a hand on her forehead She jerked slightly but didn't wake. His magic effected her and it made her calmer.

Sandy closed his eyes and looked into her dream. Well, in all honesty, it wasn't a dream. It was a nightmare, of sorts. There was no nightmare sand and Pitch wasn't present, true, but neither was this a normal dream. From what Sandy saw when he looked into her mind, she was having a having a memory. Memories are sometimes worse than nightmares, because when you wake up, you know they're real. You know that they can never truly leave you and to that's what makes memories some of the most powerful dreams there are.

Sandy lifted his hand away and studied the girl. She was still the same, twitching slightly but never showing more signs of discomfort. He frowned and wondered if he could find out more about this girl if he hitched a ride in her memories. He wasn't as adept at Memory-surfing as Tooth was but since memories were a kind of dream he had a little power over it.

The principle behind dreaming is to create a world where you can do anything. Sandy had always loved that concept and that was how he'd gotten reborn as Sandman. He was a lover of magic and infinite possibilities in the world of dreams. Memories that turned into dreams limited those possibilities slightly, but not by much. If he could control her dreams enough to channel her memories, he might be able to see just who she was.

Time to go to work.

Sandy snapped his fingers and his outfit instantly changed into his normal clothes. Sandy cracked his knuckles, rolled up his sleeves, took a deep breath and sent a small sliver of golden light spiraling out of his forefinger. It circled her head, coming to rest in a kind of crown shape right above her forehead. Sandy nodded, satisfied. That was the easy part done. Then Sandy closed his eyes and used his willpower to push through the layers of mental energy that blocked her memories from any old visitor. It took about five seconds, then he was zooming through the girl's memories and dreams.

It started like a film. Every thing was dark, then a small light began to glow, like a train coming out of a dark tunnel. Sandy sat patiently. Being inside someone's mind always made him feel intrusive, but he knew that this time he was doing it for a good reason. He watched as the glow grew brighter and brighter, eventually taking the shape of people and places. These memories were fleeting, so Sandy couldn't see everything she saw or even hear everything she heard, but he could seen enough.

When you were inside a being's mind, it is a likely thing that you will be uncomfortable unless you have experience. Sandy had experience, so he knew just to sit there quietly while the flashes of memories flew by him. First he saw a flash of silver and a shadow darting across rich green grass, then he heard the voice of a girl say, "AHA! Got you!"

_The girl is trying to find a specific memory to turn into a dream,_ Sandy thought. _Maybe I should help. _He closed his eyes and sent out a gentle pulse of dream-sand through her mind.

_Your first memory. Your first memory._

Then Sandy felt the dream shift slightly as it settled into a stable memory. He smiled contentedly. Even when you were a baby you retained your memories, and that might include memories of your mother and father saying your name.

The blackness around Sandy shrunk and was filled in by huge trees and mossy floors. There. Now he was in a stable memory. Sandy stood between a pair of Oak trees in a huge forest. Or, at lease he assumed it was huge. He couldn't see through the trees very far.

Sandy looked around, confused. He had been sure he was going to come out in some igloo in the snow with some poor woman pushing for all she was worth, but no. No, he was in a huge grove of oak trees instead. That meant the girl had to be here too. Sandy took a step closer to the center of the grove of trees. He looked up. There was a circle of dark blue sky above him and stars twinkles down happily. Sandy smiled. He missed the stars. They'd been great companions.

Sandy walked until he stood almost in the middle of the grove, looking up at the stars. They reminded him of eyes, looking down on the world. Then he snapped back and remembered that he was there for a reason. Right. The girl.

_Where is she? _He wondered.

Sandy looked all around and he even floated a few feet above the treetops, but he saw nothing.

Then, when Sandy floated back down to earth he noticed a lump of leaves in the exact center of the grove, right beside him. He looked closer and, after scrutinizing the pile carefully, he could make out three fingers sticking out from beneath the pile. He blinked. Was this the girl? If so, here was more proof that the girl was a spirit. Your first memories as a spirit were always of where you'd been turned. For Jack, is was the lake. For Sandy, it was his ship. For this girl, it was this grove.

The pile of leaves didn't move for a long time and Sandy just floated there beside her, waiting patiently. She had to get up eventually. The leaves fell and fell, some landing on Sandy. He brushed them away and continued to stare at the pile of leaves. Something about this memory was incredibly calming to Sandy, and he knew why. He smiled. This memory was a truly happy one. The most happy, according to the memories that swirled around the girl's unconscious mind. No, wait, that as wrong. Sandy could sense one more memory of this girl's that she treasured a bit more that this one, but it was locked up tightly in her memories and he didn't have access to it.

Suddenly, the memory sped up and Sandy saw the Man in the Moon rise perfectly over the grove's circle, shining his silver light over her and keeping her safe from things than crawl in the night. _Good old Manny. _Sandy thought. He knew what was happening now. Wither Manny was making a new spirit and North had been right, or she was already a spirit and she was waiting for Manny to speak to her.

After several minutes of complete silence, he heard Manny speak. It was rhythmical and smooth, like the wind on a soft autumn day.

_Your name is Autumn. Your past is forgotten. . . for now. You are the mistress of season Autumn and of the winds. I set you two tasks: find your brothers and sisters, and keep the children of the world safe._

The girl, now known as Autumn, rose from the ground and floated there like a magician's levitating assistant. She just floated there calmly with her arms folded over her chest and didn't move an inch. The leaves that were covering her were blown away, save a few that caught in her hair, which was a deep chocolatey brown and hung with normal gravity in a thick cascade. She looked exactly the same as she had when Jack had brought her, if a little less paler. Her mouth was tilted in a small smile and covering her was a thick jacket made of what looked like brown lambskin with a hood that hung down like her hair.

The girl didn't respond to Manny for a while, just floating there. Then Sandy saw her open her eyes and her upper body began to rise, like she was sitting up in a bed. Then the rest of her body shifted it's position until she was standing in mid air, much like Jack did, and staring up at the moon. She smiled.

"I understand, father."

Sandy stifled a gasp. The Man in the Moon had a child? He'd never spoken of this, to anyone. Sandy wanted to call out to Manny, but he knew this was a memory, so there wasn't a point. Memories cannot be changed. Still, he resolved to ask Manny about it later on.

The moon shone it's light on her face and the girl raised her arms, as if receiving a hug, then the moon's light faded and the wind pulled clouds across the sky to cover it.

The girl stayed staring up at the sky for a few more minutes, then she smiled and turned unexpectedly to where Sandy was standing, watching.

"If anyone is there, just know that I am a friend and I mean no harm."

Sandy raised a golden eyebrow. She knew he was there? No. Impossible. This was a memory. She couldn't really tell he was here.

Autumn walked closer and reached out her hand. "If you're there, show yourself. I can hear you."

Sandy's eyebrows both raised and he let out a silent chuckle. Either there really was someone here, or this wasn't a memory any longer and she was messing with him.

"Please," Autumn said, reaching out again. "Who is there?"

Sandy thought about to try and pull her back through her memory, just for a split-second, but that thought was diminished when he remembered the stern warning Tooth gave him the first time he'd dealt with dream-memories. He also knew the consequences of messing with dreams, even with him being the Sandman, and he knew better than to mess with a memory-dream. Tooth would have his head for messing with memories, which was her department. A department he had the utmost respect for.

Suddenly, Sandy heard something behind him and he whipped around, his golden whip at the ready. Maybe someone was here! Then he wondered, who? Pitch? It _was_ his business to lurk in shadowy forest and though this forest was the epitome of everything Pitch hated, happy, thriving, joyous, he might be here just because he could.

But Sandy was totally thrown when he saw who stepped out from the shadows. Not Pitch, who he'd been expecting, but Jack!

_Jack?_

Sandy, out of pure habit, made a question mark over his head, then he realized than Jack could neither see nor hear him, so he backed away and watched with fascination.

Jack came, walking slowly out of the forest. His hair was no longer white and his eyes were brown, instead of blue, so Sandy guessed that this was before he turned into a spirit, but his face was the same and Sandy recognized it instantly. Jack was leaning on his staff, which was just a plain oak-wood staff now, and he was limping.

The girl- Autumn -ran over to Jack and said, "Are you hurt? Let me help-" but he just walked right through her. Sandy could see the blueish vapor left behind when someone passed through an unbelieved-in immortal and he sighed, remembering the first time that had happened to him and it hadn't been any fun. She stared in shock for a moment, then she said, "He can't see me. I'm either invisible, a ghost, or something else completely." she seemed oddly comforted by this because she trudged after him, talking to him as if he was a normal person.

"My name is Autumn. I know that because the moon told me so. What's your name?" she asked, walking beside him. Sandy followed at a distance, watching the two with confused fascination. This was all very interesting. So Jack had known her before he'd become immortal. . . and that had been about three hundred years ago. Huh. So that meant that this girl, Autumn, who looked the same age as Jack, was really over three hundred. Interesting.

"Where's your home?" she asked. Jack didn't answer, but he did groan in pain as he was forced to stand on his injured leg. Autumn looked down at his leg and said, "That must hurt. From the way that you're limping, I'd say it was either twisted or sprained, but not broken."

Jack trudged on, stopping every few steps to catch his breath. Autumn frowned the fourth time he did this and said, "Well, that's not going to get you home, now is it?" Sandy watched as she raised her hands and a blast of cold air flew from her fingertips and right up Jack's nose. Jack, momentarily stunned by the blast of air, stopped and coughed loudly.

Sandy giggled. He couldn't help it. The expression on Jack's face was just too hilarious!

"What-" he said between wheezes, "Was _that_?"

Autumn smiled and said, "Me. You're welcome."

Jack paid her no attention and started walking again, but this time he didn't stop until he was a good mile away from the clearing. As they walked, Autumn voiced her question again. "What's your name?"

Jack didn't answer, as she knew he wouldn't.

"I think I'll call you. . . Blake. You sort of seem like a Blake to me."

Sandy chuckled silently and Autumn looked carefully at Jack. "So, Blake, How'd you get that?" she asked, pointing at the limping foot. "Someone whack you a good one? Village bully or something?" Again, no answer. "Ohhhh, the _silent_ treatment. Okay then." she said, looking away.

After another few minutes- boy this girl was talkative!- she asked, "Care about stopping anytime soon, Blake?"

No answer, but Jack did look up and smiled when he saw a line of beech trees. "I'm almost there!" he said, moving faster. "I'm almost home!"

"Home?" Autumn asked, squinting. "I don't see any lights. Nor smoke neither. Is your family too poor to afford firewood?"

Jack didn't answer. he just moved faster and faster until he tripped over a protruding root and let out a sudden cry. He fell down beside a particularly large tree and winced in pain.

"Blake! You OK?" Autumn asked, knowing he wouldn't answer her.

Jack stiffened in pain and said aloud, "I'll have to wait for morning to get home. If I keep moving, the Boogeyman will get me. Or wolves, or both!"

Sandy looked around. Pitch flew to the mention of his alias and, sure enough, he appeared right behind them from a shadow cast by one of the trees. He looked the same as he had the last time Sandy had laid eyes on the Boogeyman. All creepy black robe and eerie gliding. His voice was still the same, though he looked slightly less tired and angry. He still had the old glow in his eyes though. Like a cat, ready to play with a mouse.

"The _Boogeyman_ will get you?" he said in his silky voice, gliding over and looming over to the children. "Oh, _poor boy_. Maybe you'd like a little nightmare instead, to help pass the time?"

Autumn smiled and, instead of jumping up and attacking Pitch like Sandy thought she would, said defiantly, "The Boogeyman won't get us, brother. He's just stuff and nonsense."

Jack didn't answer. He was trying to make himself comfortable beneath the Beech tree and he winced in pain as he shifted. Pitch, however, heard her loud and clear.

"_Stuff and nonsense?" _he said indignantly, stepping closer. Autumn just ignored him and laid down next to Jack, trying not to touch him and let the Boogeymen know she was a fellow spirit. "Stupid child. I'll teach you a healthy respect for the dark!" he hissed, coming closer and closer.

Sandy was slightly confused. Surely Pitch could see that she was a spirit? The way she acted, the way she didn't touch Jack? _Then again,_ he thought. _Maybe I'm overestimating Pitch's powers of observation._

Autumn turned away from him and Pitch. Sandy floated over her so that he could see clearly and what he saw made him laugh. Autumn was keeping her eyes wide open, in case he tried to attack her. Sandy nodded. _That's smart. She's trying to appear human so that he'll just go away, and she's protecting Jack into the bargain. Very smart._

Pitch didn't physically attack her. He couldn't if he tried, but what he did was far more disturbing. He conjured up nightmare sand and sent it buzzing around Jack's head.

Sandy nearly slashed Pitch in two right then and there, but he knew that he could do nothing to them that hadn't already been done. Also, he knew that his magic sand whip would pass right through Pitch anyway, so Sandy stood there, gritting his teeth, watching Jack squirm with nightmares.

Autumn obviously knew what Pitch was doing, thought Sandy didn't see what she could possibly do against him without revealing her spiritness, and smiled. She obviously had some kind of plan cooked up and Sandy watched with rapt attention. Autumn breathed deeply in, holding it for as long as possible, then she exhaled, blowing right in Jack's ear and sending some black dust shooting through the air out his other ear. Sandy smiled as the nightmares flew back to Pitch's hand. Pitch looked at them in bewilderment.

"What the-" he said, glancing first at Jack, then at Autumn.

Sandy silently applauded Autumn. She had more powers than even he could've guessed, but the Nightmare King wasn't done yet.

"So, someone here has an immunity to nightmares?" Pitch said, walking over to Autumn's fake-sleeping figure and bending down to look at her. Autumn quickly shut her eyes and breathed in and out. "Let's see if you have an immunity to. . . _this_," he said, conjuring up a ball of black sand and dropping it on Autumn's face.

Autumn kept her eyes shut tight and Sandy, for a minute, was afraid that she was really having nightmares. Then he saw a small smile creep across her face, then disappear and he knew that it wouldn't effect her. She was a wind spirit, after all, and you cannot hurt the wind.

Autumn twisted and turned, grunting and gasping. Sandy laughed silently. This girl was actually _faking_ having a nightmare! Unbelievable! Sandy saw Pitch nod his head with satisfaction and then retreat into the shadows.

Sandy laughed again. Autumn had made a _fool_ of the Nightmare King, and he was sure that hadn't happened in a long time. He smiled, then wondered what was going to happen next.

Autumn, sensing that the Boogeyman was gone, sat up carefully and looked around. No trace of him was found, save a tiny bit of black sand on Jack's shoulder. She blew it away and then stood up, glowering at the shadows with contempt. "Na na ne-na na!" she said, sticking her tongue out at the darkness. "Some Boogeyman."

Sandy watched the shadows carefully, but Pitch's figure did not emerge. She turned back to Jack and said, "You see Blake? I'm not gonna let a creep like him hurt you."

Then Autumn sat down next to Jack and leaned her head to the left, patting her right ear as if trying to get water out of it. Instead of water, Sandy saw Pitch's black sand trickle out of her ear and onto her palm. After giving her head one final sharp pat, she seemed satisfied and shook her head to clear it, then she raised her palm with the sand in it to eye level.

She inspected it, pinched it, sniffed it, and eventually blew on it. Sandy was astounded when he saw that the sand didn't blow away, but it changed color. Instead of black and purple sand, it was pure white, like salt. She smiled and took a pinch, sprinkling it over Jack's sleeping figure. Instantly, he relaxed and a smile crept across his face.

Autumn smiled and pulled a tiny bag from a pouch around her waist and filled it with the white sand. "For emergencies," she said. then she glanced back at Jack, who was sleeping soundly and said, "I suppose I have the Boogeyman to thank for this dust. It's making him sleep a bit better, but I'm not sure if it's strong enough. The Sandman would be helpful right now."

As if in answer to her prayers, Sandy saw a golden glow overhead and a light dusting of dream-dust fell on Jack's shoulders. He knew exactly who it was and he smiled, craning his neck to try and get a look at himself, but that was another rule of memory-viewing; you could not see yourself. This one didn't even made sense to Sandy since, if you were in a memory, virtually nothing was interchangeable, but he obeyed it because it was one of the memory-rules Tooth had imposed, and Sandy respected Tooth. Sandy sighed silently as he stared up at the sky.

Autumn clapped her hands and beamed up at the sky. "Thank you, Sandman." she said, smiling happily. "This is just what I need!" Sandy blinked and gave a bow. Autumn didn't notice. She was too focused on Jack at the moment.

"While you take a doze, let's see if I can't do something about that leg of yours. . ." she waved her hands like a maestro conductor and Jack suddenly was lifted off the ground. The winds moved so silently that he didn't wake up, but the girl was extra silent and careful when she pulled up his pant leg and pulled off his boot.

"Sprained," she said, rubbing the swollen foot. "Sprained, but not broken. That's good." she rubbed her thumb and forefinger together and then pulled them apart. What Sandy saw, as he sat down to watch with fascination, was a very small whirlwind between her fingers. Sandy gaped. The whirlwind was barely an inch around, and it made no noise at all. It was made of white clouds, instead of black ones, like whirlwinds usually are, but it was a whirlwind none the less.

She reached behind her back and pulled a very sharp knife out from somewhere and used it to make a very quick and very small slit in Jack's flesh where the swelling was. Sandy nodded. This was how they doctored people in the seventeen hundreds They had newer, safer methods now than they had back then, but the old ones worked just as good. She slit the hole, then pointed her tiny whirlwind at it. Sandy gaped again. She was using the whirlwind to suck whatever was making the swelling out. Genius!

Sandy continued to observe as the tiny whirlwind turned slightly brown, then black. The poison, or whatever it was, was changing the whirlwind's color. Sandy marveled at this girl's improvisational skills. Then the girl squashed the whirlwind between her fingers and then proceeded to pull out the tiny bag, sprinkle some white sand on his cut, and then bind the wound with a strip of fabric torn from her own hood.

When she was done and Jack floated back down to the tree, Sandy clapped silently. _Well done,_ he thought.

Autumn stood up and said, "My work is done here. Now I have to go do the tasks I was appointed; I must find my brothers and sisters, whoever they may be." She headed off, but not before giving Jack a small tap on the bridge of his nose. He jerked and batted at his nose with one limp hand, but he didn't wake. "We'll meet again, Blake." She said gently. "I know we will." and with that, she headed off towards the east.

The dream was about to end, Sandy knew it, and he also knew that he had to get out of here before the memory consumed him. Memories will do that, even if you're just visiting. if the occupant wakes up before you get out of their memory, then you went poof! Until they dreamed that memory again, of course.

Sandy used all his might as the edges of the dream began to blacken. The darkness was getting closer and closer! Then, suddenly, he was back again, sitting on his chair in her room with North shaking his shoulder. As if he'd never left.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Sandy? SANDY!" North said, shaking his shoulder. "Sandy, what's wrong?

Sandy blinked, slowly coming back to the real world. Transitioning from a dream-world to the real world took, at best, five minutes, and it required concentration to come back all together. Luckily Sandy was an old hand at Dreamwalking and came back all together, so the large Russian man shaking him wasn't much of a distraction. He blinked again and the room slowly came back into focus. Everything was as it had been. The furniture hadn't moved, and the girl was still in the bed, fast asleep.

The only thing that had changed was the presence of the confused and nervous Guardians. Tooth was hovering in front of him, North was standing beside him, Bunny was lingering towards the back and Jack-

Sandy looked around. Where was Jack?

He glanced at the other Guardians and stood up, craning his neck to see around Tooth. Tooth realized what he was doing and moved to the side. There he was, sitting in a chair in the corner beside Autumn's feet with his chin down and gentle snores coming from his mouth. Sandy nodded approvingly and made his way over to Jack. Given how Jack's sleeping habits were practically none-existent, it was good for the boy to get some more sleep, but now he needed to be awake and alert.

Sandy tapped him on the forehead and Jack was instantly awake. His eyes snapped open and he tried to jump up, but he tripped over his own feet and pitched forward onto Autumn's feet. Sandy grabbed him by the back of his hoodie and pulled him back, keep him from waking Autumn up.

"Whew. Thanks Sandy." Jack said. "I didn't know you were awake."

_I just woke up, _Sandy wrote in golden sand above his head to save time. Then he made his way back to the chair and sat back down, laying his hand over Autumn's forehead to check that she was fast asleep. She was. Good.

Once he was satisfied that everything was right with the room, Sandy looked up at the other Guardian's faces and was surprised to see lines of worry etched in all of their expressions.

"Uh, Sandy, mind telling us what that was all about?" Tooth asked.

Sandy knew he should tell the others of what he had learned, but he decided to wait. He didn't know why, but something told him not to tell about her name just now. He responded with a golden question mark in the air above his head, and then arrows pointing to all of them, and then a frowny face.

"We're worried, Sandy, because you nearly filled the entire room with dream-sand!" Tooth said, flying over to a corner of the room and pointing to a huge pile of the stuff. "The yetis had to carry it all out in wheelbarrows, and a few of them fell asleep while doing it."

"That's also how I got knocked out," Jack added, standing up and walking over to the group. North shifted to allow him room in the tiny space of Autumn's temporary bedroom.

Sandy looked around and then grinned apologetically.

"It's OK, Sandman." Jack said, patting him on the shoulder and causing a small cloud of golden sand to erupt, much like beating a rug with a tennis-racket.

Sandy smiled, and brushed his shoulder off, then he looked u sharply and gave Jack a strange look. He had just remembered something he'd seen in Autumn's dream and he looked down at Jack's ankle, wondering if Jack even remembered what had happened. Jack followed his gaze and frowned, puzzled.

"What?" he asked, staring down at his ankle. Sandy didn't answer and he just kept staring at the bare ankle for a few long and uncomfortable seconds, then he looked back up at Jack's face and smiled. Jack smiled back hesitantly. There was no way he could remember, Sandy decided. It was so long ago, and even thought being healed by a magic girl with whirlwinds wasn't something you'd forget, he probably didn't remember it because he hadn't been able to see her.

To get the conversation back on track, Sandy started firing questions at Jack to distract him from his ankle. First he made a sand clock and a sleeping figure.

"About an hour or so," Jack answered. "Not very long."

A newspaper, the moon.

"No, no news yet from Manny. He will though." North said confidently.

Sandman pointed to the piles of dream-sand and made a flipping golden sand calendar appear.

"When did you start making the dream-sand?" Jack asked, just to make sure. Sandy nodded. "About half an hour or so ago. Why?" he asked, frowning. Sandy dismissed the question with a wave of his hand and conjured a golden sand image of Pitch, then another question mark.

Jack frowned again. "No, why would we know where Pitch is?"

Sandy rolled his eyes and made an image of Pitch running, then another question mark, then a picture of North's workshop.

"Oh, you mean, is he coming here?" Jack said, wondering what Sandy had seen that could make him so riled up. Usually Sandy was a peace-loving Guardian, but now he was extremely impatient. Not only that, but he was asking a bunch of odd questions and acting strange.

Sandy nodded, gesturing for him to go on.

Jack thought for a minute, then said, "No. At least, I don't think so. Why? What's so important about Pitch?"

Sandy dismissed his question again and turned to North. He made a golden map appear, then another image of Pitch.

North frowned. "Why should we find Pitch? He's no friend of ours."

Sandy rolled his eyes again and made a quick flash of symbols appear. The Guardians, then an eye, then another of Pitch.

"We need to keep an eye on Pitch? I agree, but what has you so worked up, Sandy?" North asked, bending down to peer at the little golden man.

Sandy just dismissed the question again. So many thoughts were whirling around his head right now that he needed to focus to keep them all in line. He stood up and over to Autumn's bed again, staring down at her face. If Pitch was strong enough, he could sense anyone thinking about him, including during a dream. Especially if someone called his name. Autumn needed to be kept safe, and with the attack last year on Christmas, North couldn't afford to have Pitch disrupt this year's batch, _if_ Pitch was after her at all.

Then again, the appearance of Pitch might just as well have been a coincidence. Yes, that made a bit more sense. If Pitch was after her, why would she be running _here_? Better yet, why would she be running _at all_? The memory had shown that she could fly, so why had she relied on Jack to save her? It was confounding. Sandy couldn't understand why, if she was a spirit, that she had acted like a human around Jack.

He knew he had to find out more about this girl, and the only way to do that was to get her to his home and put her in a deep-dreaming state. Then he could talk to her inside her mind and she wouldn't be able to use her powers if she got scared. The more he thought about this idea, the more he knew it was the best solution. The others wouldn't understand, so he decided not to explain. At least, not yet.

He turned quickly to North and pointed to the girl, then to himself, then made a picture of his home, the Cloud Castle.

North's frown deepened. "You want to take her to the Cloud Castle?"

Sandy nodded and made a picture of a kettle boiling.

"It's urgent." North deduced. "Alright Sandy, but aren't you going to tell us why?" Sandy nodded and made a calendar. "Later." North said. Sandy nodded. He made a shooing motion at the other Guardians and they nodded, turning towards the door. Whatever Sandy had in mind, they knew he would tell them when he was good and ready.

Sandy nodded and thanked them, then he turned around and opened the window in the girl's room. Bad for an immortal who had hypothermia, but it wouldn't matter. Soon she would be in his warm castle and they would be able to chat. He was about to begin making a quick dream-sand plane to get them to his castle when he remembered something. The memory! Sandy flew over to Tooth, who was floating just above the ground, waiting for North and Jack to move so she could get past and tapped her on the shoulder.

Tooth looked around and said, "Oh, Sandy. I thought you said we had to go."

Sandy nodded and pointed to her, then to the ground. "You want me to land?" she asked, confused.

Sandy made a picture of a dog sitting and she said, "You want me to stay?" Sandy nodded and pointed at Autumn.

"This has something to do with the girl?"

Sandy nodded, making a treasure map with an X, and on the X he put several teeth.

Tooth frowned. "You need me to find her teeth?" she asked, wondering what was going on in Sandy's head.

Sandy nodded and made a picture of a messenger, and then one of the Cloud Castle.

"And bring them to the Cloud Castle?"

Sandy nodded and smiled. Tooth looked doubtful. "I need a name, Sandy. I can't just look at every memory case we have!"

Sandy nodded, thinking hard. H_ow could he get her name across?_ Finally he just decided to use sign language because it was easier.

"A-U-T-U-M-N. Autumn?" she said, having learned ASL (American sign language) as a way for her fairies to communicate silently without expending the energy it took to communicate telepathically Sandy nodded. "Okay. I'll see what I can do." Tooth said, ready to fly off but Sandy grabbed her arm. "What?" she said.

Sandy quickly signed that the name he knew might not her birth name, then he made a picture of a cross, then picture of autumn's face, then a picture of the memory cases.

"Cross-check using her name and her face?" Tooth asked, marveling at Sandy's brilliance. Sandy nodded. "Got it. Anything else?" Sandy gave her the thumb up. "Yeah. Good luck to you too." she said, smiling.

Then Tooth took off, leaving the sweet smell of wintergreen toothpaste behind her.

XXXXXXXX

After getting her into the dream-sand plane, which was pretty easy as his magic kept her asleep and she barely weighed anything, Sandy buckled her in carefully, making sure she was still comfortable. He gave her a sand pillow and sand goggles, just in case. Then he gunned the motor and took off, speeding towards his home. The other guardians watched him go and he waved as the plane took off.

As he flew, Sandy wondered about the girl in the seat in front of him. Who was she? And why had she been inexplicably drawn to Jack? What was she doing out there in the arctic wilderness? Was she searching for her brothers and sister, as the Man in the Moon had instructed her? Was she really the moon's daughter?

Sandy frowned as he swerved to avoid a flock of geese._ This is all connected, somehow. _He thought stubbornly as he headed home. _The girl, the memory-dream, Jack, all of it. Connected._

They arrived at the landing pad he'd constructed for this dream-sand plane in Cloud Castle an hour after that. Sandy parked his plane and used a dream-sand stretcher to carry her up to a safe room where he put her on a soft white bed with golden pillows and closed the door silently. After cleaning up a bit, Sandy wrote down all that had happened in his diary, which he'd kept for thousands of years, and then sat down in his main living room, eagerly awaiting Tooth's arrival.

The Cloud Castle was a giant golden building made with bricks of dreamsand and huge glass windows made by melted dreamsand. Sandy built it ten thousand years ago, modeling it after a castle of ancient Scottish kings. It was much too big for just him, but he enjoyed it anyway. The inside was a beautiful gold and when the sun shone through the huge windows, golden light shimmered and danced across the walls. Crystalline candelabras cast rainbows around the ceiling and shining murals that Sandy had rescued from the ancient ruins of island cities and placed at the ceiling in the main living room.

The castle, along with about five feet of green grass and flowers that Sandy tended to when he wasn't working, floated on a giant white cloud far above the cities of humans and was invisible to any kind of human tracking system. It floated along slowly and gently, only ever picking up speed when Sandy twisted the right switch in the small room that controlled the mechanized parts of the castle and engaged the propellers underneath the cloud that steered it across the sky.

The main level of the castle, the one where he spent most of his time, held the big, open living room with huge windows that faced east and allowed the sunrise to illuminate the golden interior of the castle. It was a beautiful sight and he couldn't believe he had never taken anyone to see it before.

_Probably because anyone who came here would be knocked out by dreamsand, _he thought, smiling.

Tooth came to the palace half an hour later and Sandy met her on the balcony, the only place that wasn't built out of dreamsand and when she fluttered in through the huge open window and landed on the smooth marble floor, she did not look happy.

"It's not there!" she said, flopping down on Sandy's plush golden couch, looking dejected.

Sandy frowned, raising a question mark above his head.

Tooth looked up and said, "It wasn't stolen. No," she said, looking down at her hands. "Those teeth just never existed."

Sandy's question mark became bigger.

"I mean, they existed of course, but only in her mouth. She never lost them, and I never gave her a single coin under her pillow!" Tooth buried her face in her hands and started weeping.

Sandy put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He knew how important Tooth's job was to her, and he knew how dejected she felt. He'd felt the same way when he couldn't help children dream in the Nightmare War. It was like your very soul was being sucked out of your heart and it left you a shell of your former self, empty and unable to do what you love. In short, it was a horrible feeling.

Tooth looked up and said, "Thanks, Sanderson." Her face was tear-streaked and Sandy blushed when she used his full name and sat down beside her, keeping his comforting hand on her shoulder.

Sandy sat there with her for a long time, just sitting together in silence. He kept his hand on her shoulder and she just sat there with her eyes closed and her face in her hands. Time passed and night fell. Manny came out and in his light, Tooth looked very pretty indeed. Her feathers shone and Sandy silently sighed, knowing it was impossible. He couldn't, no matter how pretty she was. It was against the Guardian code.

He'd been admiring her for a long time- discreetly, of course. The Sandman wasn't about to have the rest of the guys tease him for the rest of eternity -and he had to admit that he had feelings for Toothiana that far surpassed the normal friendship limits. She was just so kind and beautiful and. . .

Sandy sighed again. _Focus, Sandman!_ He told himself. He knew he shouldn't be thinking these kinds of things at a time like this. There were things that needed to be done. Things that _especially_ revolved around the mysterious Autumn.

He lifted his hand off of her shoulder and tapped her gently, making a hesitant question mark. Tooth looked up. She wasn't crying anymore, but her face was still slightly pink and Sandy conjured a handkerchief Tooth took in and blew her nose. "Thank you Sandy. I just get emotional when I can't do my job. It's a quirk."

_Sandy nodded and waved his hand like, no biggie. I do it all the time._ Not strictly true. When he couldn't do his job, that meant that there were nightmares about and that was easily taken care of with a giant golden sledgehammer, but that wasn't probably what she wanted to hear right now.

She smiled. "You're so nice. Thank you Sandy."

She turned away from him and continued to stare at her hands. Sandy tapped her again.

Tooth looked up again. "Oh, I'm sorry." Tooth said. "Was there something else you needed?"

Sandy could've kicked himself. Here Tooth was, obviously distressed, and he was worried about a mysterious spirit. He smiled sheepishly and Tooth said, "No, it's OK Sanderson. What do you need?"

Sandy wasn't sure how to ask this. He'd figured that Autumn wouldn't have a tooth box in the palace, so he formulated a theory about how they could find out more about her. Of course, he could do this without her help, but he wanted to spent more time with Tooth, and this was as good a chance as any.

He started with a simple sequence: a tin can, the letter U, the letter C, then he pointed up and he made a picture of a brain with pictures flashing across it.

"Can... you-" Tooth said slowly, trying to figure it out. "Can you see. . . her memories?" Sandy nodded enthusiastically. Tooth glanced up at the ceiling and said, "Not without her teeth, no."

Sandy would've rolled his eyes, had it not been Toothiana he was talking to. Instead, he tried to show her again by picking up Tooth's hand and opened his mouth. He put her small, delicate hand on his golden teeth- trying ot ignore the shiver that went through him at her touch -and made a question mark. Tooth looked at him with obvious confusion. Sandy let her hand drop and flashed through the symbols again. "Can you see her memories," Tooth said, repeating what she'd said before.

Sandy nodded, and then picked up her hand again, making her touch his teeth. Tooth instantly understood.

"Can I see her memories while the teeth are still in her mouth?" Sandman nodded enthusiastically again. "Maybe. I've never tried it before, Sanderson. I don't know." Sandy took both her hands in his and looked at her with pleading eyes. Tooth hung her head and smiled. She'd never been able to resist Sanderson's endearing smile. "Alright. I'll give it a try." she agreed. She stood up and instantly her wings picked her up and she was floating several inches off the ground.

Sandy stood too, but he was so happy that he flew in spirals all around the room, going higher and higher until he reached the ceiling and then he floated carefully back down.

Tooth smiled. "Wow. You're really happy." Sandy blushed and she said quickly. "Oh don't worry. There's nothing wrong with that. Actually, come to think about it, I haven't seen you this happy in years." Sandy blushed harder, turning his skin into a kind of creamy yellow with rosy tinge.

Tooth smiled and held out her hand. "Shall we?" Sandy reached for it and held it carefully. Together, they flew to her room and Sandy pulled the door open. Tooth gasped. "Wow. I had no idea your place was this beautiful."

Sandy shrugged and made a little word joke. He made the word million, then split them into mill and ion. Then he made the number 1 and put it between the two. Tooth saw it and giggled. "One in a million. That's cute."

Sandy blushed a harder shade and followed Tooth into the room. Tooth locked the door just for precaution's sake, then she turned to the sleeping girl. "Now listen Sandy," she said, using his nickname again. "I have no clue what will happen if I try to access the memories like this. Whatever happens, don't let me go too far in," she said, looking worriedly at Autumn. "And don't let go of me," she said, putting her hand in his. Sandy's rosy face coloring shot up to beet red.

Tooth noticed and giggled. "Oh Sandy, relax. I can do this. I think," she said nervously again.

Sandy felt like saying, "I believe in you," but he didn't know how to put that in symbols. There was something else he wanted to say; something he knew exactly how to put in symbols, but he wasn't sure this was the right time for it, so he just nodded, giving her the thumbs up.

Tooth smiled and readied herself with a deep breath, then she opened the girl's mouth and gently touched her teeth.


	3. Jack Tells A Bedtime Story

**Hello peoples! I'm back! ****I'm glad people are still reading this and I hope you review!  
**

**To Foxglove: I only did major re-edits on certain chapters. In the next one you'll see what I mean.**

* * *

Everything was white. That was all she could see. White. She couldn't see anything, even her own body, but she could see the white around her. Slowly, the world around her came into focus.

Tooth wasn't as adept at memory-surfing as Sandman, but she was handling it well. She waited until the world around her was more fully developed and she paid careful attention to what was going on around her. The memory that Sandy had witnessed flashed by in a series of seconds, but Tooth got every word. She stifled a laugh when Autumn made fun of Pitch and cooed when she laid down next to Jack. She giggled uncontrollably when Autumn tried to name Jack Blake and stared in wonder when she called the moon father.

In that particular instance, however, something inside her said_ "She doesn't mean it like that. We _all_ think of Manny as our father. He takes care of us, so that must be it."_ Tooth wasn't completely sure, but that was all that made sense.

She also nearly fell off her perch when she saw Autumn blow the darkness out of the sand and use it to help Jack. "Holy Molars!" she whispered. Even _Sandy_ couldn't completely strip away the sand's color like that. He could only turn it gold and Pitch the same. He could only turn it black. "That's. . . That's. . ." she stuttered, trying to find the word. "That's amazing." And it was. The eldest Guardians, (well, one Guardian and one fallen Guardian,) couldn't strip the color from the sand, but a brand new spirit could.

The rest of the memory flew by and just as the darkness was starting to creep into the edges, Tooth felt herself being pulled out of the dream and into the real world again. Or at least, that's what she thought.

When she opened her eyes, which she hadn't known she'd shut, she saw unfamiliar surroundings. She wasn't back in Sandy's Cloud Castle. She was in another memory.

This one began in a small house that looked to be about 17th century. Thatch roofing, wooden walls, and a brick chimney going up through the ceiling in a corner. "Just like Jack's house," she said quietly. The house was very lovely, and it had a comforting homey feeling that was incredible. Even Tooth, who was just visiting, felt a strong urge to relax in a chair and put up her very tired wings for a bit. But she knew she couldn't. There was something important that she had to see, somewhere.

Tooth heard a noise and flipped around, raising her fists like Bunny had taught her. It was just a little girl, coming down the stairs that must lead to an attic. Tooth dropped her fists and, knowing the girl couldn't see or hear her, sat down in a comfortable armchair and waited for something to happen.

The girl ran to a corner and pulled out a smallish chest. Interested, Tooth flew over to inspect the toys. They were very pretty; hand-carved and hand-painted, by the look of them. There was an elephant, several little men, little wooden spears that fit nicely in the holes carved in their hands for exactly that purpose, a little woman with flowing blonde hair and a pink dress, a little black dog, a little white cat, a king and queen, and several little wooden settings. There was what looked like a palace dining room, a jungle, and a miniature house much like the one she was in.

Tooth settled down to watch the little girl play. Soon she had an entire kingdom made up and she was just about to have the woman in pink marry the elephant when someone burst through the door, bringing snow and a bitter-cold wind breezing through, making Tooth shiver and the little girl drop her wooden toys. Tooth and the little girl both looked up. Tooth, when she saw what she saw, gaped. The little girl, however, squealed in delight. "Jackson! You're back!"

Tooth closed her mouth and smiled. So this was Jack before his Guardianship. She stood up to get a better look at him, taking in his deep hair and twinkling brown eyes. His face was a little frostbitten and his nose was pink, but he looked happy. He was wearing the same thing he'd been wearing in the previous memory, a brown frostbitten cloak with his hood up and that thin vest. Tooth couldn't believe he hadn't died of cold in that outfit. How had he managed?

Jack grinned his usual grin, dropping his staff as his little sister ran at him. He picked her up under her arms, swinging her around and laughing. "Of course I'm back!" he said, grinning. "Where do you think I went?"

The little girl shivered. "I dunno. Papa says that people who go out in the snow and ice get stuck in the Snow Beast's world."

Jack set her down and bent down until he was eye to eye with her. He was grinning mischievously. "Well, don't tell Papa, but I think I saw one!" he whispered.

The little girl's eyes widened. "A Snow Beast?" she said breathlessly.

"No," Jack said, looking around carefully. He beckoned his sister closer and leaned in to whisper into her ear. "A Snow _Spirit_!"

The little girl's eyes widened still farther. Tooth raised an eyebrow. _Snow spirit?_ She thought, nearly laughing.

"A snow spirit? Really?" she asked, obviously in awe of her big brother.

Jack shrugged off his cloak and said, "How about I fix you supper, get out of these cold clothes, and then I'll tell you all about it."

Jack's sister jumped up and down, her eyes shining and her hands clasped in childish joy. "Oh, will you really?" she asked.

"Just as soon as I get these cold clothes off and get supper started." Jack promised, heading upstairs. Before he was all the way up, he called down to her, "How about soup?"

The little girl's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Potato and carrot soup?" she asked.

"And maybe even a few mushrooms," Jack called down again.

Jack's sister squealed again, her eyes as wide as saucers. "Mushrooms!" she squealed, laughing and dancing all around the room. "Mushrooms, mushrooms, shroomy shroomy mushrooms!" she sang, shaking her hands up and down like a mad mechanical bear.

"That's right. I found a few untouched by frost!" Jack called.

Jack was silent for a while and his little sister danced around the room, singing, "Mushrooms, mushrooms, little lovely mushrooms! Eat 'em in a pot, eat 'em while they're hot,"

Jack came down the stairs, this time wearing gray trousers and a brown shirt that was torn in several places. His hazel eyes sparkled as he joined in with his sister. "Eat and eat and eat and eat and eat until they rot!"

Jack's sister giggled and Tooth sighed. She was witnessing pure happiness here. It was beautiful. But in the back of her mind she was still thinking, _shouldn't Autumn be here? This is her memory, so shouldn't she be here?_

Jack bent down and asked his little sister to go fetch water for the soup from the lake. She nodded and eagerly ran off, leaving Tooth alone with Jack. Or so she thought. As soon as Jack started chopping vegetables for the soup and, she heard a groan behind them and she and Jack both turned around, Jack holding the knife out and Tooth just standing there, wondering if this was 'Papa'.

The man was huge, about the size of a grizzly bear, with greasy black hair and a scraggly beard. He was wearing a brown jacket that looked like it was made of skins and a dirty gray shirt. Tooth couldn't see his face because it was in shadow, but she could hear his heavy breathing. The man was clearly drunk and Tooth suddenly felt very afraid for Jack.

"Papa," Jack said quickly, lowering the knife. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was-"

The blow came so fast that Tooth couldn't even see it. It knocked Jack off his feet and slammed him into a wall. Blood spurted from Jack's nose and he stared up at his dad with fear in his eyes.

"You ain't been home, son. I was beginnin' to wonder if them Snow Beasts got you after all." the man growled.

Jack wiped his nose and shook his head. "No, Papa. Neither rain nor snow nor Snow Beast of night would keep me from coming home."

Tooth's eyes widened. "Jack, of all the times to be a smart-Alec," she moaned.

Jack's father quickly picked his up by the shirt and lifted him up as easily as a kitten. There was real fear in Jack's eyes. "Don't you try being funny, boy. I been going three days without a hot meal. What have you got to say for yourself?!" he bellowed, blowing back Jack's hair.

Jack trembled and Tooth couldn't help shaking as well, though more out of rage than fear. "I g- got lost, Papa. I got lost and I got attacked by a wolf!"

Jack's father threw him down and grunted. "Bah. Excuses."

At that moment, Jack's sister came trundling in with the bucket of clean lake water. "I couldn't get much, Jackson, because the lake was near frozen! But I got enough for our soup, I think-" she stopped when she saw her father. "Oh, Papa. I didn't know you were awake."

Jack's father instantly change. His sneer changed into a smile and he picked up the little girl, holding her close. It disgusted Tooth. "Ah, my little princess. Having soup, are we?" He shot Jack a glance. "Jackson forgot to mention this."

Jack gave his sister a quick look but she didn't catch it. "Oh yes!" she said, clapping her hands. "We're having mushrooms and potatoes and carrots and-"

Jack's father suddenly put her down, heading towards the vegetables on the cutting board. "Mushrooms? In winter?" he said, reverting back to the greedy man Tooth had seen before. He picked up a small sack that Jack had come in with and dumped it out on the board. "Well I'll be!" he said, staring in wonder at the fungi. "Mushrooms in winter! We'll have a right feast, eh Jack ol' boy?"

Jack's sister finally saw Jack and she rushed to his side, helping him up and staring in wonder at the red stain beneath his nose. "Wha' happened, Jackson?" she asked in awe.

Before Jack could answer, his father put a hand on Jack's shoulder and said, "Jack here bumped into a wall, isn't that _right_ Jack?" Tooth did not fail to see the pressure he put on Jack's shoulder as he said this. It made her want to pummel him and rot all his teeth to the core so that he would have to get dentures.

_Yes, that would be a fitting punishment for him! Wooden dentures,_ she thought to herself. _How could_ any _parent treat their child like that, without a second glance?_

It got worse as the evening progressed. Jack's father ate all the soup but a few drops worth, ate all the bread and after that drank a bottle and a half of what Tooth suspected was brandy. _Serves him right! _She thought maliciously. _Rot all his teeth to the core!_

Jack, seeming to have experienced this before, took his little sister upstairs where he tucked her in bed and said, "Do you want to hear the story about the elves again?"

Jack's sister shook her head. "No, I want to hear about the Snow Spirit you met today!"

Jack nodded, remembering his promise. "Oh, yes. I remember. I did promise, didn't I?" he asked, looking longingly at the bed beside her. His bed. Poor Jack just wanted to get to sleep.

"Yes, you did!" The little girl said, bouncing up and down on her bed. "I wanna hear it! Please, Jackson?"

Jack gave a hearty sigh and said, "Alright. It started when I began heading towards home," he began. "I'd badly hurt my foot and I had to lean on my walking stick like an old man." he brought out his staff and hobbled around the room, earning laughs from his sister. He sat back down again and said, "I made it to a strange clearing where the moon was hanging straight overhead," he said, pointing to the spot right above her head. She laughed and looked up, almost as if she expected the moon to be there in her room.

Tooth smiled. Of all the Guardians, Jack was the one who loved the children most of all and it clearly showed now. Maybe it was the fact that he was the closest in age to the children, or maybe it was because he had the heart and mind of a child, happy and almost always carefree.

"So, I walked through this clearing, followed by Mr. Moon, and when I got to the edge something made be freeze, right where I was. I could feel someone, or something, following me. It was close." he said, putting his hand over his face to seem creepy and mysterious.

His sister laughed and Tooth laughed with her.

"It was very, veeeery close," he said, leaning towards her with wide eyes and his normal wickedly mischievous grin. "I didn't stop, but I didn't run. Night was closing in and the Boogeyman would soon be out, scaring the living daylights out of little children!"

This time, instead of peals of laughter, Jack's sister began to shake with fear. "Oh no, Jackson, please, don't talk about the Boogeyman." she said, leaning against him and clasping her hands around her shoulders.

Jack laid a comforting hand around her and said gently, "Don't worry Bea. The Boogeyman can't harm you."

Tooth had a feeling she knew what was doing to happen next and, true to form, she heard a silky-smooth voice right behind her.

"Oh _really_?"

Tooth turned around and there he was, just as menacing as ever; spiky black hair, black robe, and malicious golden eyes. He stepped toward her and she flew a few inches back.

"Can't resist popping up whenever you hear your name, eh Pitch?" she said, raising an eyebrow,

Pitch paid no attention to her. In fact, he walked right _through_ her, sending a chill through her feathers.

"Grah!" Tooth exclaimed, rubbing her arms and trying to get rid of that awful feeling. "Oh come _on._ I know this a memory, but a little courtesy would be nice!" Tooth complained. Then she remembered that Pitch couldn't hear or see her and rolled her eyes.

Pitch was right behind the children now, leaning down until his face was right beside Jack's ear.

"And why _not?" _he hissed. Tooth shivered. Hearing him speak like that made her feel like she was back in the Reign of Richard the third, the first time she'd met Pitch. He had been scaring the nephews of King Richard and she was there collecting their teeth. She'd felt terrified of him, down to the tips of her feathers. Now, she just felt slightly creeped out.

"Why not?" Bea mimicked Pitch, earning a glowering look from the Nightmare King.

Jack pulled her closer. "Because he holds no power over you if you believe in him." he said, tousling her brown hair the way North sometimes tousled his.

Pitch, however, was struck dumb. His mouth was slightly open and Tooth resisted the urge to smile. It was rare to see the Boogeyman surprised, and she decided to savor the moment. Granted, she was a little surprised that Jack was telling his younger sister to believe in the Boogeyman, but she just attributed it to his ignorance. He didn't know Pitch was there, and he was probably just telling her as part of the story.

"I don't get it." Bea said.

"Neither do I," Pitch muttered, sitting down on Jack's bed opposite them. He watched Jack intently. "What makes you so sure I'll spare you, just for believing in me?" he asked.

Jack ignored him and Bea seemed to be thinking along the same lines because she said, "If you believe in him, wouldn't he be able to find you easier?"

"Valid point," Pitch conceded.

"And then he'll toss you in a sack and take you out and bury you, just like momma's stories said!" Bea said, shivering.

Pitch actually looked insulted. "The idea!" he said indignantly.

"Or, he might throw you in a pot and cook you until you're well done, then eat you! Like the trolls in momma's stories!" Bea said, warming up to her new job as story-teller.

At this Pitch gave a snort. "Are you joking, child? I sincerely hope so." Pitch made a face like something foul was being shoved under his nose. "The idea of _eating_ children. Disgusting."

"We say the same about _you_," Tooth said, sticking her tongue out at Pitch, forgetting he couldn't see or hear her.

"Bea!" Jack admonished. "I'm completely serious. OK, so he might be able to find you easier. Big deal!"

Pitch's ears perked up. Tooth saw him sit up straighter and lean in to listen intently to Jack's explanation. This kind of confused her. _Why should Pitch care what Jack thinks? He hates Jack! _Wait, no. that wasn't right. He didn't know Jack before now. Tooth frowned. _Then why was he still there? _Tooth racked her brain for something that made it logical for Pitch to be here, but she was drawn a blank He wasn't scaring anyone. He wasn't terrorizing anyone.

"Maybe he just likes listening about himself." Tooth mused.

Jack went on, regardless of the spirits talking around him. "Just because he _can_ find you doesn't mean he _wants_ to hurt you." Jack said, pulling away from her and turning on the bed to face her with his legs crossed. "The Boogeyman doesn't scare anyone without a purpose. Just like momma said: _No one_ does _anything_ without a purpose."

Bea nodded slowly. "No one does anything without a purpose. So, if I'm good, he won't scare me?"

Jack nodded, smiling. "Exactly. But, you've got to do more than just be good." Jack clasped her hands together in his and said, looking straight into her eyes, "You have to _believe_ in him, Bea."

This shocked both Pitch and Tooth so bad that they both fell off their seats. Pitch landed with a loud plop and Tooth with a more dignified thump.

Pitch was up first, staring wildly at the two children. "Did he say. . ." Pitch couldn't finish. There were tears in his golden eyes. _Tears, _in _Pitch Black's_ eyes! Tooth found this more disturbing than the fact that Jack had asked his sister to _believe_ in the Boogeyman!

"But Jackson, why?" Bea asked. "Isn't the Boogeyman scary and hairy and mean?"

Pitch rose from the floor and indignantly said, "I am neither hairy, nor mean ,child. I am what I am."

Tooth noticed he didn't say anything about scary and chuckled as she picked herself up. Pitch sat back down again and Tooth noticed him giving Jack another strange look. She blinked. It was something that almost looked like respect. Or even- _Gratitude?_

"Bea!" Jack admonished again, this time tweaking her nose. "Don't you know the _story_ of the Bogeyman?"

Bea, Tooth and Pitch all frowned at the same time. Pitch looked intently at Jack. "If I _have_ a story, then by all means, tell it." he said, waving his hand.

Bea shook her head and said, "Momma never told me the Boogeyman's story. She said I was too young and that it would give me nightmares."

Pitch chuckled and muttered, "It probably would."

Jack sighed and said, "Well, once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a beautiful star named Reina."

_"Reina,"_ breathed Bea."

"Yes. Now Reina was a Guardian star and she kept watch over all the children and families in the land. There were other stars too, but they kept watch over couples, houses, forests and other things, but Reina kept watch over children. One day, she saw a black figure darting through the trees of a thick black forest. She thought it was a child and, knowing wolves were around that time of year, she rode down on her star chariot from the sky to find the child that had run into the woods."

"The Boogeyman," Bea said.

Jack shook a warning finger. "Don't get ahead of yourself, missy."

"Yes, do be quiet child." Pitch grumbled, propping his chin up with his arm on his knee. He looked almost like an eager child at a library storybook circle. "Go on, boy." Pitch ordered and, as if he had heard him, Jack continued.

"Reina used her magic to shoot silver light across the sky. With it, she could see everything below her as the light cast away the shadows that had enveloped the dark forest. Along one muddy road, pursued by a pack of wolves, ran the child she was looking for. She called on Diana, star of wolves and Wargs and wild beasts to stop their frenzied chase, before the child was ripped to shreds."

Bea buried her face in her brother's shoulder. "No, Jack! I don't want the little Boogeyman to be ripped to shreds by the wolves!"

Pitch raised one non-existent eyebrow and said, _"Little?"_

Tooth chuckled.

Jack patted her shoulder. "Relax, Bea. I won't be able to finish the story until you let me!"

Bea wiped her tears and runny nose on Jack's sleeve and said, "Well, wha' happened next?"

Jack smiled. "Well, Diana knew that the wolves who were chasing the boy hadn't eaten in days, so she argued with Reina, saying that the child was trespassing on the wolves' territory and that they _should_ eat him."

"Kind woman," Pitch muttered. Tooth instinctively shushed him, then she felt silly.

"After that the two argued all through the night, each convinced they were completely right."

"Sounds like you and Bunny, Jack," Tooth muttered. "Or even North and Bunny."

"After a while Chali, the star of fairness, said that there should be a compromise since both star's responsibility's lives were at stake. Chali sent down a dead deer to the wolves which distracted them from the boy, allowing him to run away. Both stars were satisfied and Diana remained friends with Reina. But Reina had a problem: she still had to find the boy."

"Finally, it gets interesting." Pitch said, leaning back against the wall with a look of boredom on his face.

"So Reina went into the forest with her trusty silver staff to guide her. Her staff radiated silver light and by that light she found the boy, hiding in a dank dark cave."

Pitch raised his none-existent eyebrows and said, "Dank? Dark? Overdoing it a bit, aren't you boy?"

"Shush!" Tooth said, waving her hand at Pitch, then she felt silly again. It was easy to forget she was in a memory where no one could see or hear her.

"When she found him, he was as wild as the wolves which had chased him. He tried to bite and scratch her, but she just took the blows like any good mother does with her child. After a while, the wild boy was too tired to attack and he lay slumped on the ground, breathing hard. Reina, who was still standing but covered in painful scrapes and bruises, laid her hand on his forehead and spoke calming words that delved deep beneath his anger and fear to where, in his center, the heart of a child still remained. She touched something in him that cured him of his madness and from then on, he was as tame as a kitten."

Pitch's none-existent eyebrows rose even further. "Excuse me?" he said, trying to regain some shred of dignity. "I am not some meek little child! I am the Nightmare King, ruler of-"

"And then what happened?" Bea asked, interrupting the Nightmare King's rant. Pitch just looked dubiously at the little girl.

"Well, she took him to live with her in her star palace in the sky," Jack answered, smiling. "Each star has their own star palace and Reina's was decorated in silver and blue. There was more food than an entire army could eat,"

"But not me!" Bea said confidently.

Pitch and Tooth both chuckled at this and Tooth wondered if Pitch wasn't such a bad spirit after all.

"But not you," Jack said, tweaking her nose playfully again. "Anyway, for nine years he lived with her until he grew up to become an adult. His name. . ." Jack paused and Tooth watched Pitch leaned forward eagerly to hear his character's name. Tooth decided that Pitch was a severe narcissist.

"His name was Kozmotis. Reina never gave him a last name though."

Pitch nearly dropped off his seat again. Tooth frowned. What was important about that name? Was that his _real_ name, from before he became... whatever he became? If so, Tooth could understand why he'd changed it.

Pitch stood up, forgetting the rest of the story. "How do these children know so much?" he asked himself, pacing the room. "Their story is far from completely accurate, but it does have some truth. How do they know?"

Tooth almost snapped for him to sit down and shut up, but then she remember the whole no-see thing and clamped her mouth shut. This was one of the reasons she really hated memory-surfing.

Jack, meanwhile, continued the story. "As he grew up, Kozmotis did many great things for Reina and the stars. He alone had the courage to fight in the dark when all other lights went out, but only because the light that Reina had given him when she touched his heart. He saved towns and villages from monsters, killed dragons, slashed Shades, destroyed trolls and toppled evil everywhere he went. By the time he was twenty, he'd locked away nearly every monster on the face of the earth in Guildamir, the star of jailer's cages."

Jack stopped to take a breath and Bea and Pitch both unexpectedly said, "Go on. What happened next?" at the same time. Pitch just glowered at the girl. Tooth giggled like a third-grader.

Jack gave her another nose-tweak. "Patience, sweet Bea. Patience. All will come soon."

Bea pouted and Tooth noticed a similar look on Pitch's face. She laughed outright and said, "Oh come _on_, _Boogerman_!" she said, laughing. "Patience. Like the kid said; all good things come to those who wait."

Jack cleared his throat and began again. "Well, after all the monsters were locked away, Reina commissioned a special medal to be make for Kozmotis, in honor of his bravery. Reina also told him that since for now, good prevailed in the great struggle of good and evil, he could go home to earth for as long as he needed. But, Reina had grown fond of Kozmotis and she offered him a life as a star guardian. He declined, saying he'd rather go back to his home on the earth and so he did for many years, during which he got married and had a family. He also had a little child; a girl named Brell."

Pitch shook his head in disgust. "Brell. What kind of name is that? Her name was Seraphina, idiot boy! If you're going to tell the story tell, it right!"

Tooth listened to the Nightmare King's outburst with surprise. Pitch really had a daughter? Did that mean this simple bed-time story actually _true_?

"Kozmotis lived in peace and happiness on earth for many years, until Reina came to him one day in her silver star chariot. She told him they need his help to guard the cages of monsters. That without him, the cages would break and the monsters should be set free once more. Darkness would overrun the world again."

Pitch smiled and licked is lips. "Mmm. What a wonderful thought."

Jack stopped because Bea was trembling. "What's wrong, Bea?"

Bea stopped trembling and said, "I'm just so excited to find out what will happen next!"

"Aren't we all," Tooth muttered.

"Well, Kozmotis agreed to go back and guard the cages but before he left, his daughter gave him a small golden locket with her picture in it. 'To remind you,' she said. 'To remind you that there is still good in the world.' Well, Kozmotis put it around his neck and promised he'd keep it there for all eternity, the he went off to guard the cages. Now, when he got to the cages, he realized that the monster had very persuasive voices. They told him that riches and fortune would be his if he unlocked their cages. He ignored them. They told him that he would be immortal. He ignored them. They told him he could have everlasting happiness for himself and his loved ones. That was what did it."

Jack paused, looking mischievously at Bea. "You know, Bea, it's late. Maybe I should save the rest for later-"

"No!" Pitch and Bea both shouted at the same time.

Tooth giggled again and Pitch gave the child another glower.

"Well, if you're up to it. . ." Jack said.

"I am! Please, Jackson go on!"

Jack nodded and resumed. Tooth noted that Pitch looked more than a little relieved. "That did it. He loved his family more than anything, so he did it. He opened the lock and put in the key. They'd nearly gotten him to open the cage but just as he was about to turn the key, he thought of his daughter. Brell, sitting in his house with his wife, waiting for him. That vision made him wake up and realize what he was doing. He pulled out the key and stuck it back on his key ring, amidst the howls and shrieking of revenge."

Jack looked at Bea, who was ready to issue another reprimand for stalling the story. Tooth glanced at Pitch, who looked about ready to do the same.

"The following day," Jack began, holding his arms up in surrender. "The monsters were unusually silent. Usually they scratched the bars of their cages, howled angrily and screamed, but today they were quiet. Kozmotis wondered if trouble was brewing.  
That night, one of the monsters cried out, 'Ah, what a lovely feast we have tonight. Such raw and succulent meat. Truly delicious.' Kozmotis wondered what they were being fed.  
'What is it you eat, beasts of evil?' He asked, running his keys along the bars of their cages.  
'We have human flesh for dinner tonight, oh foul one." The monster said. This worried Kozmotis. Could a human have fallen into one of the cages? He heard ripping noises and the beasts within the cages said, 'Now_ that_ is human meat. Ripe, delicious _child's _meat. It's a pity you're not in here, jailer. Or you might enjoy the sight of your _daughter_ being ripped limb from limb.' That sent Kozmotis's doubt right out of the room and he charged at the cages, opening them with his keys and roaring with fury. The thing was, he let out all the creatures in the cage by doing so."

Jack was a little nervous now, Tooth could tell. He was afraid of telling his little sister this part.

"Well?" Bea asked. Pitch, for once, was silent.

"_Well_, after he let the monsters free, Kozmotis became one of the dark creatures himself. He sucked all their power and it transformed him into what is now the Boogeyman. Now, he prowls the night for children who have misbehaved very badly and need to learn from their mistakes. Even fear has it's place in the world, Bea." Jack said, looking out of the tiny window as he said this. "Fear makes people do stupid things, but it also helps you overcome itself."

Bea smiled and snuggled up to her older brother. "So where is Kozmotis now?" she asked, yawning.

"Right here with you," Pitch said, sighing.

"I'm not sure, Bea. Maybe if you believe in him enough, he'll come and you can ask him yourself." Jack said, signaling that this was the end to her story. He tucked Bea in carefully and bent down to give her a goodnight kiss.

When he did, she looked sleepily up at him and said groggily, "Will you take me skating tomorrow?"

Jack smiled. "Sure Bea, if the water's frozen enough. Why?"

Bea smiled and muttered, "I wanna face my fearzzzzzz." And she was out.

Tooth smiled and pulled her covers up to her nose, then walked over to his own bed. Pitch quickly got up, watching the soon-to-be guardian carefully.

"You told my story," he finally said when Jack had gotten into beg and pulled his covers up. "I thank you for that, boy. No one's ever asked about my story before. Not one."

Tooth watched the tears begin to form on Pitch's face and she smiled. Maybe the Nightmare King _was_ just an old softy.

Jack didn't blow his candle out; he just laid there, thinking about the story he'd told. Did he really believe in the Boogeyman in the sense he'd just told his sister? Could he be real? Jack truly believed that there _was_ a place for everything in the world, so why not the Boogeyman?

Jack reached to blow out the light and right before he did, he thought he saw a gray face with black hair materialize out of nowhere, but it must've been his imagination. Right?


	4. The Boogeyman Skates & Autumn Turns Evil

**Hi everyone! Here's the next chapter. I changed a butt-ton of stuff around, but I hope you likee.**

* * *

After Jack blew out his light, Pitch stayed there, just watching the two children. It was kind of creepy, but there was no malice in Pitch's eyes when the moon shone into their tiny room, illuminating his thin tall frame.

Tooth fluttered over to him and said snidely, "Don't you have other children to scare, _Boogerman?"_

Pitch didn't answer, as she knew he wouldn't. He just stood there, watching. As if waiting for something.

After a while, Tooth got bored and started doing loop-d-loops in mid-air, just for something to do. Pitch just sat on the edge of little Bea's bed and watched her and Jack.

Time passed slowly and Tooth had nearly fallen asleep when, at _last_, something happened. A bright dark-purple light began to glow over Bea's head.

"At last!" Pitch said, moving closer to the sleeping child. Tooth was about to grab his arm and yank him away from her when something stopped her. It wasn't the fact that she couldn't touch him, that she already knew, it was the little voice in the back of her head. It was saying, _'Give him a chance. Give him a_ _chance.'_

Tooth raised an eyebrow at herself, wondering if she was developing _pity_ for the Nightmare King. But, none the less, she lowered her arm and watched patiently.

Pitch stood up and then bent over the little girl, touching the purple and black orb that was floating just above her head.

_A nightmare! _Tooth thought. _What's he going to do to her nightmare?_

Pitch's fingers touched the orb and instantly, Tooth saw a flash of little Bea in a huge dark forest, being chased by monsters made of snow. Then suddenly, Pitch was in there, leaning against the tree.

"Are you going to run until you wake up, little girl?" he asked. His voice wasn't snide, or silky, like it usually sounded. He was asking an honest question, from what Tooth saw.

Bea froze, staring at Pitch like he the devil himself! Or, close enough anyway. "Are you-" she started to say, without a hint of fear. "Are you the Boogeyman?"

Pitch made a mock bow and said, "At your service, child."

Bea frowned, the monster Snow Beasts forgotten for the moment. "So, what are you doing in my dream?"

Pitch pulled away from the tree and walked over to her, his black robe catching on stray twigs and thorns. Bea didn't back up as he came closer and closer, until he was towering over her like the shadow of a demon. But, instead of scaring her, Pitch bent down and cupped her chin in his hand.

"I'm here, Bea," he said, using Jack's nickname for her. "Because I wanted to thank you and your brother or the wonderful story you told this evening."

Bea's eyes widened to the size of saucers again. "You were listening?"

Pitch smiled. "Indeed I was. And I would thank your brother personally but he, apparently, has an immunity to nightmares." Pitch frowned as he said this and Tooth remembered the memory just a few hours earlier with Pitch and Autumn and Jack.

Bea mimicked Pitch's frown. "What? That's not true. Jackson has lots of nightmares!"

Pitch raised one none-existent eyebrow and said, "Well_ I've_ certainly never seen them."

Bea shrugged. "Well, anyway, why are you here?" she asked again, frowning.

Pitch chuckled and muttered, "Persistent little one." Then he looked straight into Bea's eyes and said, "I'm here to help you."

Bea's frown deepened. "Again, why?" she asked, sounding more like a twelve-year-old than a five-year-old.

Pitch sighed, waving a hand at the approaching Snow Beasts. Bea looked towards them and she screamed, running behind Pitch and holding onto the folds of his robe with her tiny fists, cowering behind him.

Pitch, who wasn't at all accustomed to being hidden behind, looked at her in surprise. "And what do you think hiding behind _me_ will do, little Bea?"

Bea let go for about a second, peeking out from behind him and, still seeing the Snow Beasts stampeding towards them, wailed, "You said you would help me! Help me!"

Tooth just stood in awe, watching the Snow Beasts stampeding towards Pitch and Bea. _He won't leave her, will he? _She wondered, flying closer to them. The roar of an avalanche was getting louder as the Snow Beasts got closer.

Pitch bent down again, forcing Bea to let go of his robe and stared into her emerald-green eyes. "Remember Bea, what did Jackson tell you earlier about me?"

Bea frowned again. "That you. . . never do anything without a reason?"

Pitch nodded, grinning his old evil grin. "Indeed. If there's a child that is being bullied, I send them a nightmare about being chased by monsters. If a child is scared of swimming, I send them a nightmare about being lost in the middle of an ocean. If a child is scared of her older brother's partially fictional stories, well, I send the Snow Beasts."

Bea shrank back a bit and said, her lips wobbling. "But why? That sounds like the worst thing to do to someone!"

Pitch put a hand on her shoulder and said, "But it's not. Actually, in most cases, it helps the child. Think about it: If you were afraid of drowning and you had a nightmare about being stuck in the middle of an ocean, what would you feel?"

Tooth noticed the Snow Beasts seemed to freeze when Pitch was talking.

"Um. . . scared?" Bea answered.

Pitch nodded. "Yes, but like your brother said: fear helps people overcome itself! What would you be afraid of if you were on a tiny raft in the middle of the ocean?"

Bea closed her eyes in concentration. When she opened them again, there was a spark of understanding in them. "Dying."

Pitch nodded, smiling encouragingly. Tooth had never seen that smile on his face before in her lifetime! "Yes! So, if you saw land, with food, would you swim for it or stay on the raft because you were too scared?"

Ba didn't even have to think. "Swim for it!" she shrieked, her eyes sparkling with a new-found courage. Tooth watched in amazement as she gave Pitch a very quick hug. Pitch didn't even have time to think as she let go and started to run towards the Snow Beasts.

As she ran, something began to happen to little Bea. Something began to form in her hands the closer she got to the Snow Beasts. Tooth flew closer and saw with amazement that it was a sword! A little child-size sword with jewels on the hilt and gold inlaid on the blade.

Both Pitch and Tooth stared with slacked jaws at the little girl charged the on-coming beasts, screaming a war cry that ruffled even Tooth's feathers.

"I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOUUUUUU!" she screamed, running at the Snow Beasts with her blade out. Tooth was sure a little toy sword wasn't going to be enough for a five-year-old to defeat all these monsters, but then something miraculous happened. The snow beasts gave one final awful howl, just as Bea was about to slash the first one, and then they disappeared. They didn't go poof; they just turned into snow.

Bea stopped short, staring at the huge piles of snow that had taken the place of the Snow Beasts. She dropped her sword and it shimmered out of existence before it hit the ground.

"Well done." Pitch said, scaring the feathers off Tooth. He was right behind her, putting his hand on little Bea's shoulder. "Well done indeed."

Bea looked up and Tooth saw tears of joy in her eyes. "Will I ever see them again?"

Pitch shook his head, still smiling. "No. Not unless you start being afraid of them again." he bent down and Bea watched in amazement as a black sword with purple gems appeared. "But then I'll come and dispatch the monsters for you, little Bea."

Bea reached out to touch the sword, but Pitch closed his hand around it and it disappeared. "But more of that later. There's still one nightmare you need to beat."

Bea frowned and said, "But I already-"

Pitch put his finger to his lips and Bea was instantly silent. "Listen to me, child. You have many more fears than most children your age, and come dawn you will need to face one of them. I'm just giving you a little practice." he smiled, pointing down at her feet.

Bea looked and gasped when she saw where they were. It took Tooth a little while to figure it out, but then she realized that she and Pitch were standing on ice. Jack's lake! The one Bea had asked to go skating on!

Pitch smiled and said, "I can tell you are afraid of skating, but only a little bit. C'mon. Show me what you can do, little Bea." Tooth noticed that Pitch was also wearing skates with black blades.

Pitch backed away, giving Bea plenty of room but before she could show him, he slipped on the ice, regaining his balance only by grabbing onto a tree branch. When he let go of the branch and took another step, he slid and ended up doing the splits. Bea glided over smoothly, grabbing his hand and helping him up. He smiled gratefully but the second he let go of her hand he slipped again and fell on his butt.

Tooth giggled, noticing how clumsily Pitch moved on the ice. "He glides when he walks but he stumbles on ice. Too funny!" she said, laughing at Pitch's clumsy attempts to right himself.

Eventually, after three attempts to stand, during which Tooth giggled uncontrollably and Bea just stood there grinning, Pitch decided that he'd had enough and the skates vanished the instant he snapped his fingers.

"Not that good, huh Mr. Boogeyman?" Bea asked, helping him to his feet again.

Pitch rolled his eyes and said, "Not as such. And please, _don't_ call me that. It's just a title."

Bea smiled happily and said, "OK. Can I call you Kozmotis?"

Pitch stiffened and he said gruffly, "That was my name in another life. Here, I am Pitch Black."

Bea clapped her hands like a child at a tea party. "Wow. I've never met a person with a color for a name! Well, there was Violet Brent, but she was mean. I like your name, Pitch Black."

Pitch rolled his eyes again and said, "Just Pitch, OK child?"

Bea pouted. "And just Bea, OK Pitch Black?"

A small flame of anger kindled in Pitch's eyes and for a moment, Tooth was worried he might strike the child, but he just closed his eyes and took a deep calming breath. "Agreed," he said and stuck out his hand.

Bea took it and they shook. Tooth wished she had a camera.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Over the next half hour, or however long it was- Tooth couldn't keep track, Pitch and Tooth watched Bea skate. Tooth kept hovering but Pitch sat down in the snow in front of a tree, leaning against it. Tooth noticed that Bea was phenomenally good and Pitch found himself applauding her on more than one occasion.

After a bit, She glided over to Pitch and sat down next to him, breathing heavily. "That was fun!" she chirped, scooping snow into a tiny hand-sized ball and idly poking holes in it. Pitch however, was frowning.

"Yes, but it doesn't make any sense to me. You love skating. And you are very good at it. Why are you afraid of it?" he asked, looking down at the little girl sitting beside him.

Bea swallowed and said, "Well, my momma went out skating one day in winter and she fell through the ice. Papa tried to reach her and save her, but he was too late and the freezing water sealed the ice hole, trapping momma inside. I was playing on the lake that day with her, even though Papa had asked us not to, and when she fell through, I was with her. I was just a tiny baby and momma had a grip on the ice before she fell through, but she chose to slide me across to thicker ice and when she did, she lost her hold on the ice and died."

Pitch just listened silently. Tooth, however, had tears in her eyes.

"Papa died soon after that. The townspeople said he went mad with grief. Now Jackson and I are stuck with Mr. Aberdean, who we have to call Papa."

Tooth's eyes widened. "You mean he's not your father?" she asked Bea. Bea didn't answer, but Tooth went on. "Now it all makes sense! He _starves_ you! He hits Jack and treats you like a servant." Tooth's wings beat furiously as she hovered. "I think Mr. Aberdean needs a good kick in the pants!" she said venomously, illustrating by kicking the tree next to her and earning herself a slight pain in that foot.

Pitch stayed silent for a long time, then finally he said, "I understand. That kind of loss is a terrible thing."

Bea looked up at him with wide eyes. "That's right. You lost your family too, didn't you?"

Pitch stiffened again, as he did anytime she had mentioned his past. "Yes. Yes I did."

"Jackson's story. . . was it really true?" she asked, looking up at Pitch's gray face.

Pitch looked down at her and gave a half-smile. "Your brother's version omitted certain key facts, but overall yes. That was my story." Tooth watched Bea pondered this as she and Pitch just sat together beneath that tree.

Tooth had some pondering of her own to do; like was the Nightmare King really _all_ bad? The story Jack had told whirled around Tooth's mind and she thought about how it had portrayed Pitch; A good guy, but driven mad with worry about his child that eventually allowed him to open the cages and let all darkness loose. But he'd done it because he'd thought his child was in danger! That showed that he loved children, surely?

She was so busy thinking that she almost missed Pitch's next words.

"Her name was Seraphina, not Brell. Seraphina. Tell your brother that, will you?" Pitch asked Bea.

"I will," Bea promised. After another moment of silence Bea asked, "Do you still have her locket?"

Tears blossomed in Pitch's eyes and he shook his head. "No. I lost it in a battle. I haven't seen it for nearly ten thousand years."

Bea's eyes widened to hub-cap size and her mouth dropped open. "You're ten thousand years old?" she asked in disbelief.

Pitch nodded. "Ten thousand two-hundred and twenty-seven. And If you tell anybody I'm going to turn you into a pile of black sand!"

Bea nodded, not too worried about the threat. "Don't worry. I won't. Besides, who'd believe me? Who in the world would believe that the Boogeyman took me skating?" she began to laugh and Pitch joined her. Tooth was surprised by how sweet Pitch's laugh was. It wasn't the cruel, cackling she'd heard in the Nightmare War, but a low soft, gentle sound that made her wish she could hear it in real life.

"Indeed. That brings me to my next point, actually," he said, turning to face her. "Do me a favor and don't mention this to anyone. I have a reputation to uphold, you know." The look on his face was so serious that Bea and Tooth both busted up laughing. Pitch grumbled at Bea's reaction and Tooth just laughed harder.

"Oh sure, _Boogerman_. I won't tell anyone you're just an old softy!" Tooth chortled, turning head over heels with laughter.

Bea wasn't much better. She was rolling on the ground and giggling like a Hyena. Pitch turned away, wearing the same look that Bea had worn back it Jack's house. He looked like a pouting child. Tooth burst out a fresh new wave of giggles and Bea just couldn't stop!

Finally, after the girls' giggle-fest had subsided, Pitch gave Bea a cynical look and said, "Finished?"

Bea let one last "He he," and then she wiped her eyes. "Sorry about that. But the look on your face was just so funny!"

Pitch groaned. "Great. Now I'm_ funny._" he said it with such obvious distaste that Bea started to giggle again and Tooth was doing somersaults in the air again, laughing.

"I'm completely serious, Bea." Pitch said completely seriously. "If children start to think of me, the Boogeyman, as funny then the whole world will fall apart!"

Tooth just laughed harder and Bea managed to squeak out, "Dramatic." This make Tooth laugh harder than she'd ever laughed before and she had to hold her breath to stop her violent case of hiccups before she could stop laughing.

Pitch groaned and held his head in his hands. "This is what comes of being nice! You get made fun of!" he grumbled.

Bea stopped laughing and said, "Yes. You get made fun of. . . by a _five-year-old_!" and then she was off again, chortling like there was no tomorrow.

Tooth, however, was not laughing. She was watching Pitch closely. There was something about his face that caught her eye and she flew closer, wondering if she was right. She was. The Nightmare King was smiling.

"Oh for the love of-!" Tooth said, rolling her eyes and floating towards Bea. "He's enjoying the attention! That's all it is! He's _enjoying_ being laughed at!" Tooth said, fuming. Then she had the inexplicable urge to laugh herself. Pitch Black, scourge of the darkness, lord of Nightmares and King of under beds, was enjoying being laughed at by a little child. This was more important that she knew, but at the time all she could think was, _After ten thousand years it must be nice to hear someone laugh because of you instead of scream in terror._

Pitch suddenly stood up and said, "It's time for me to go. I have other stops to make before the sun shines again."

Bea jumped up, the laughter gone from her face. "Can't you stay for just a little longer?"

Those eight words got to Pitch more than anything. He smiled and said, "Do you know how long it's been since someone said that?"

Bea shook her head.

"A long time, Bea. A very long time." he looked at the trees around him and said, "I'm sorry, but I have to go."

Bea grabbed a fistful of his robe and started crying. "I don't want you to leave! Besides Jack, you're my only friend and he's my brother, so he doesn't count!"

Pitch stroked the little girl's forehead and said softly, "I'll be back soon. When the sun sets and the dark comes, I'll be there." he bent down, holding one of her hands in his and cupping her chin with the other. She looked into his golden eclipse eyes and asked, "Promise?"

Pitch nodded and said, "I promise. And, if you ever need me or if you ever need help, just call my name."

Bea nodded and buried her face it Pitch's shoulder. Tears streamed down her face and she said, "I will. I promise. . . Pitch Black."

Pitch patted her on the back, twice, then she let go of him and stepped away. Pitch gave her one of his rare _real_ smiles and bowed, vanishing without a trace.

In a flash of white Tooth and Pitch were back in the memory and Pitch was leaning over Bea, stroking her hair gently. _He must be reminded of his own little girl, _Tooth thought.

Pitch whispered something to her and the purple and black orb suddenly changed to a golden one where Tooth could see Bea skating with a man and woman who must be her father and mother and off to the side were Jack and Pitch, leaning against trees and watching the little girl's happiness as she slid along on the huge pond.

Pitch smiled one last time, then he turned to Jack's bed. He was sleeping soundly and didn't even stir when Pitch sat down on his bed next to him.

"You know," Pitch said, glancing at Jack's sleeping face. "Telling stories to your sister at night like that is a sure way for her to get nightmares. You can trust me on that." Pitch chuckled. "But you told her my story anyway. I wish I could know why."

Pitch glanced out the tiny window and said, "My time is growing short. I bid you farewell, Jackson Overland. Farewell, and pleasant dreams."

Pitch turned and was about to make was on his usual shadow-exit when he heard something that made his look around one last time. Tooth heard it too; a small voice whispering in the shadows.

"Goodbye, Pitch Black." It was Bea. She was still asleep, but she could feel his presence when he was about to leave.

"Goodbye, Bea Overland." Pitch said. "Goodbye. . . and thank you."

Tooth smiled. "Bye Pitch. See you in our world. Though you'll probably not be as nice there." Pitch didn't hear her, as she knew he wouldn't, and with a whoosh that blew back her feathers, he was gone.

Tooth sat down, waiting for the darkness to start creeping into the corners of the memory, like she knew it would, but it didn't. After several seconds she said, "Well? What's going on here?"

And, as if in answer, a very powerful wind with no apparent source began blowing around the room. Tooth shielded her eyes from the wind and tried to pinpoint it's source, but she could see nothing. Nothing in the room, no one of the blankets or the clothes that Jack discarded on the floor, moved an inch. Tooth was baffled. She could feel the wind, powerful and cold, pressing against her body, but there was no physical evidence of the wind.

Then, before she could voice her confusion aloud, the back of a familiar spiky head came into view in one of the shadows. Pitch!

Tooth blinked, confused. It looked like he was being pushed out a doorway and he appeared to be trying to use his shadows, but something was stopping him from going all the way through and he was swearing like a sailor, trying push his way into the shadow. The wind picked up and Tooth flew over to him and called his name.

"Pitch! What the hell is going on?"

Pitch didn't hear her. Aside from the obvious, he was too busy trying to push his way through the shadow. The back half of his body was out now, but Tooth couldn't see his arms. They were still in the shadow, but she could see his shoulders moving wildly and she assumed he was trying to grab onto something.

"What... is... wrong... with... this-" he grunted, pushing his face forward into the shadow but before he could finish his question the shadow-door gave a bellow and Pitch was forcibly ejected from the writhing door, which disappeared and turned into a normal shadow when he flew literally _through_ Tooth and landed with a loud _Bump! _on the floor.

Tooth, wondering what the heck was happening, looked around for some kind of rival spirit like Sandy or something. But no one appeared.

Pitch, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines, hissed, "Show yourself!"

Nothing, for several seconds.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Tooth saw a very thin shape shimmer into visibility. It was crouching on the windowsill and Pitch didn't see it at all.

"We meet again, Boogeyman." it said in a soft, breathy voice that Tooth could tell was obviously female.

Pitch jumped up and whirled around, conjuring a black ball of sand at the same time. "Who are you?" he asked, holding up the ball threateningly.

Tooth flew closer and saw, with a jolt, that it was Autumn. Autumn slid off the windowsill and casually walked towards him. Pitch stood his ground and growled as Autumn got nearer and nearer. "Who... are... _you_?" he repeated, narrowing his eclipse eyes.

Autumn, who was wearing her hood, raised it and said, "I am Autumn, and I think the better question is, what are you doing in my brother's bedroom?"

"Your brother?" Pitch was momentarily confused, then he remembered his encounter with Jackson the night before and his eyes narrowed even further. "_You _were that girl who was traveling with Jackson?"

Autumn glanced at Jack. "Jackson? So _that's_ his name. I like Blake better." she said, keeping her eyes fixed on Pitch. "Now, again, what are you doing in here? You know that he has an immunity to bad dreams, so why pursue a waste of time?"

Pitch glowered at her. "He doesn't have immunity to nightmares. No one does. Exceeeept. . ." Pitch said, drawing out the word. "Except _other spirits_."

Autumn raised her hands and said, "Fine. You caught me! I'm Autumn, the spirit of the wind. I used my powers to keep your grubby claws off my brother. Now will you get _out_ of my brother's bedroom? I've vowed to keep him safe, especially from other harmful spirits."

Pitch snorted. "_Harmful?_ You can't have been re-born more than a few days ago. How can _you_ know what's harmful?"

Autumn smiled. "You'd be surprised what I know, _Pitch Black._"

Pitch couldn't help showing his surprise. "You know my name. Interesting."

Autumn smiled. This one wasn't as kindly as her first. This one was more, Y_ou're going to be afraid of me. You just don't know it yet._

"That's not all I know, _Kozmotis."_

Tooth and Pitch both froze, staring at Autumn. Tooth in amazement and surprise, Pitch in surprise and anger.

"You were listening the entire time?!" he yelled, advancing on her. Autumn held her ground and examined her fingernails as if she were bored and not about to probably get blasted into a million sand pieces by Pitch.

"Yup." Autumn said. "And I gotta admit, not a very exciting story."

Pitch was trying to control himself, that much was evident, but he wasn't succeeding very well. "So why," Ha asked, struggling to remain calm, "Didn't you identify yourself? I have no quarrel with you. Yet."

Autumn raised an eyebrow. "Yet?"

Pitch shrugged. "I have no quarrel with you because as far as I've seen, you are a neutral spirit. You haven't chosen light or dark and, so long as you stay that way, I have no fight with you."

Autumn nodded, as if this information interested her. "Ah. And I will most likely remain that way until you distress my brother or sister with a Nightmare. Then I will pound you into the ground and leave you there, trapped under a very heavy house."

Pitch chuckled. "Amusing. Now, I have to be getting along. So many children to visit, so little time."

Autumn smirked. "By 'visit', you do mean scare, right? I mean, isn't that what the _boogerman_ does?"

"Bad move," Tooth said, wincing. "Should've quit while you were ahead."

Pitch clenched his fists and said, "I will forgive your insolence just this once, for being a new spirit. Any insult after that makes it completely legal to turn you into a Fearling or anything else I choose."

"Oh forgive me, master of Boogers. Your Boogerness. The most highest lord of Boogers." Autumn said, giving him a mock bow. "You mean like that?"

Pitch gave his evil smile and said, "Exactly." And, without a warning, he shot a ball of black sand at her face. It transformed in mid-air into a black dagger, which Autumn caught by the blade between her palms, ninja-style.

"Thanks," she said, blowing on the dagger.

Tooth and Pitch stared in amazement as Autumn's winds blew away the darkness and shadows, leaving the dagger completely white with not a trace of black sand anywhere.

"How did you do that?" he demanded, staring at the dagger.

"Natural talents." she said, spinning the dagger experimentally in her palm. "If we're going to fight, please let's take it outside. I don't want to wake the children."

Pitch glanced at Bea and Tooth could see his expression soften a little bit. "Agreed." he said, shadow-traveling outside on to the snowy, moonlit front yard. Autumn followed, transforming into a gust of wind and breezing through the wall. Tooth had to zoom through the window and downstairs to get there before it started. She actually didn't need to hurry, because they weren't fighting yet. They were both staring up an the Moon.

Tooth looked too and as the winds picked up, she heard the deep musical voice of Manny.

_My children. _He said.

Tooth watched Pitch stiffen as he heard a voice that he probably hadn't heard for hundreds of years.

"What do you want, old man?" Pitch snarled up at him.

_My children. _Manny said again. Tooth thought he sounded almost regretful. _Look what it's come to: brother fighting sister._

Pitch laughed his high, cold laugh. "Brother? You must be losing it, old man. I am no kin to this one." he said, pointing to Autumn.

Autumn lowered her white dagger and said contemptuously, "You fool. We are _all_ sons and daughters of the ones who created us."

Pitch growled and threw another dagger at her. This one passed right through her, sending a ripple through her stomach like when you dip your finger in a pond. "No one calls me a fool!" he howled, throwing dagger after dagger at her. They all went through her and she glared back at him.

"Look at yourself! You fight blindly because you are full of anger!" she said, earning another dagger. "You are so full of anger it is consuming you whole, and eventually it _will_ destroy you."

Tooth watched all this with morbid fascination. Autumn was baiting him for some reason, but Tooth couldn't tell why. She knew there was a lot of truth in what she said, and Pitch's anger certainly mirrored that of a siblings'. "Pitch, get a hold of yourself!" she said, not caring if he heard her or not. "You are _not_ only fear and anger! I have seen that with my own two eyes!"

Pitch paid her no heed and threw another dagger at Autumn. This one she caught, blowing the darkness out of it and throwing it back, all in one smooth motion. Pitch dove to one side and glared at her venomously.

_Your anger, Kozmotis, is understandable. But my daughter is not the the cause of it. You blame your anger on her and you continue to ignore the real problem._

"Oh yes?" Pitch hissed, glaring up at the moon now. "And what would you know of it? You haven't spoken to me in centuries! CENTURIES, old man! Centuries of hiding under beds! Centuries of trying to teach children not to fear their nightmares! Centuries of being told _I... don't... exist_!" Pitch screamed the last three words at the moon, scaring a few birds who were roosting nearby off of their perch.

Tooth looked at the moon, wondering what he would say. She noticed that Pitch didn't object at being called his real name and she was surprised by this.

_I know, son, because _I_ am the cause of it. I abandoned you for decades after your accident because I feared of what you would be. Had I known you were so adept with your powers, I would've spoken to you before this._

Pitch glared up at the moon and Tooth wondered what he would say. Would he break down and beg forgiveness? Not likely. Most likely he would scream some more, then go back to his shadow-lair.

But instead of screaming, like Tooth thought he would, he threw back his head and laughed maniacally at the moon, completely forgetting Autumn.

_"That's_ your reason?" he finally said, glaring up at the moon when he had done with his mad cackling. "You were _afraid_? How afraid do you think _I_ was when I first discovered my powers? How afraid do you think _I_ was as decades went by with no one knowing I was alive or even there? How _afraid_ do you think I was when I realized that all I could do was spread fear and terror? Not joy, not happiness? That _that_ was a job for others?!"

Pitch took a breath and lowered his gaze to Autumn His eyes were dark and Tooth felt absolutely terrified. "Afraid?" he whispered, staring at her with utter hate etched on his face. "You don't even know the _meaning_ of the word."

_I know the meaning of the word. _Manny said softly. _I know the meaning and the meaning, now, means **you** Kozmotis._

"MY NAME IS PITCH BLACK!" Pitch howled, throwing the dagger at Autumn again. _OK, maybe I spoke too soon._ Tooth thought, watching the dagger as it sped across the moonlit snowy ground. Autumn raised her hands, summoning to her winds that caught the dagger like a tornado and spun it around, throwing it right back at it's owner and stripping the blackness from it as well. Pitch ducked, growling, "I have had _enough_ of you!" he shouted.

_Kozmotis, hear me. _Manny said, causing every feather on Tooth's body to ruffle. His voice was deeper and more powerful now.

Pitch looked up in spite of himself and shouted, "DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

_It is your name, _Manny said. W_hither you like it or not._

Something in the way Manny spoke seemed to freeze Pitch. He didn't throw another sand dagger. He didn't shout or scream. He didn't even move.

_Pitch Black, do you want to be Kozmotis again? _Manny asked.

Tooth raised an eyebrow. What was Manny talking about?

"That's impossible." Pitch said, not even stopping to consider it. "Kozmotis is dead. I am Pitch Black."

_Pitch, Kozmotis can never be dead. You may be a different person now than you were, but you _can_ be Kozmotis again, with the help of Autumn._

Pitch raised an eyebrow. "The girl? What can she possibly do?"

Manny and Tooth both laughed at this. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know?" Tooth asked, choosing to fly a bit closer. She couldn't miss a minute of this!

_She has powers that haven't been seen in millennium. Before you were born,_ _Kozmotis._

Pitch looked incredulously at Autumn. "She's a wind spirit. What can-"

Autumn's eyes suddenly flashed golden brown and she said in a dangerously low voice, "You want to know what I can do, _Boogerman_?"

Pitch rolled his eyes and said, "Enough with the _Boogerman_ thing. It's getting old."

Autumn smiled her _you're going to fear me, _smile and said, "Nearly as old as you are."

_Children,_ Manny said, making them both stop in their argument and stare up at him. _You both have your talents. Neither is better than the other. Time is getting on and I must leave soon._

"Then go!" Pitch yelled, hurling another dagger, this time up at Manny. It didn't go far before gravity reversed it's direction and fell uselessly back to earth. "I never asked for you to be here! Just like I never asked you for _this_!" He hurled another dagger at Manny and this one flew farther, but Manny turned it into a pure white dove which fluttered away, off into the trees before the dagger cleared the treetops.

_Kozmotis, I am not going this instant. _Manny said in what sounded like a terse tone. _I still have one more gift to impart, if Autumn will forgive you for your anger and pain._

Autumn looked at Pitch with obvious distaste. Pitch glared back. Autumn opened her mouth and she was about to say something, then she changed her mind.

Tooth wondered what gift Manny was talking about and if Autumn was going to forgive Pitch. She wouldn't, she decided. If it was her in Autumn's place, she wouldn't forgive Pitch for the things he'd done.

"But," she said to herself as she watched the rest play out. "If I were in Autumn's place, I probably wouldn't be alive. I could never have caught those daggers."

Finally, Autumn opened her mouth and said, "I do. I forgive you, brother."

Pitch rolled his eyes in disgust. "For the last time, I am not your _brother_!" he shouted, throwing another dagger at her.

Autumn put out her hand and caught the dagger neatly. As she held it in her hand, the black sand fell away and, beneath the darkness, the white sand dagger remained. "Now you aren't." she said, crushing the white sand dagger in her palm and dusting them off. "but soon, you will be again."

"You speak in riddles, girl." Pitch snarled. "I'm not overly fond of riddles."

Autumn looked up at Manny, as if for confirmation. Manny smiled and said, _It is time. Bring back my son._

Tooth frowned, but she kept silent. As far as she knew there was no way to bring back a fallen Guardian such as Pitch, or whatever he was. Actually, as far as she knew, Pitch was a unique case. Nothing like what had happened to him had ever happened to another Guardian.

Autumn turned back to Pitch and said, "Don't fight, and don't run. It'll all be over in minutes."

Tooth was surprised to see a flash of terror cross Pitch's face. _What is he afraid of?_

She soon found out as Autumn began to walk slowly towards Pitch. She could see tears of sweat running down his face, but he didn't run. He didn't even move!

"What is going-" Tooth said, but she was interrupted by her own gasping as she watched Autumn break into a run. She spread her arms out and her body began to ripple as she ran, her hair spreading out like an unfurling cape. With each step she grew lighter and more opaque. Her dark skin turned to smooth, ripping glass and her eyes shone with a fierce determination that Tooth marveled at. Even stranger, her face was completely see-through, but Tooth could see a smile playing around her mouth quite clearly.

"She's smiling?" Tooth said aloud in disbelief.

She was. Her eyes were bright, like she was about to give someone a great present, and her smile was much wider than it should have been now. Tooth could see all of her teeth, and I mean_ all of them_! She nearly fainted, they were so pretty. Then she smacked herself on the arm and woke up. There were more important things going on.

_Yeah, like Autumn turning into a freaking whirlwind with Pitch in the center of it!_

It was true. While she'd been telling herself off for mooning over Autumn's teeth, Autumn herself had run right through Pitch, wrapping her see-through arms around him and enveloping him like a blanket. Then her body fanned out like a cape in front of a fan and her body completely disappeared, turning into a hazy funnel that looked like a forcefeild. That was when Pitch started to fight. He thrashed and spun around, banging his fists against the blueish opaque wind that caged him.

To make sure he didn't break free, Autumn started to swirl in circles, turning Pitch into the center of a miniature tornado! Tooth flew right up to them, her mouth open in shock. Was she seeing Autumn killing him? Was she seeing her saving him? She could tell he was screaming by the way his mouth moved and the wide, absolutely terrified look on his face, but the funnel wind blocked any sound from leaking out. The wind outside the funnel had begun to pick up too and Tooth looked over her shoulder to see the trees _bending!_

"Oh boy, that's not good." she said, turning back to the cyclone. When she did, she was astounded by what she saw.

The cyclone, which had started out the color of tinted blue glass, was beginning to turn a murky brownish color that Tooth associated with rotten teeth. Then, after a few seconds, the cyclone's whirling winds turned the color of cold magma, blackish brown, and she could barely see Pitch's shape in the whirling, churning mass of air.

Tooth put her hand to her mouth and watched in horror as Pitch thrashed and bounced off the walls of his whirlwind cage. He was terrified of whatever was happening to him and she found herself pitying the Nightmare King as she saw the pain in his eyes, which was quickly blocked as he closed his eyes and fought against the whirlwind. It was a losing Battle, Tooth could tell. As the whirlwind got darker and darker, she could see Pitch sink to his knees in defeat and not even bother fighting anymore. She didn't know if he was alive or dead, because of the whirlwind was too dark to tell.

Tooth watched and waited. Slowly, ever so slowly, Autumn began to slow down her menacing cyclone. The winds around Pitch began to slow and even the wind that was bending the trees of the forest behind them was letting up. Eventually she completely stopped the black tornado and the darkness of the wind compacted into Autumn's slight frame. Tooth saw, with no little surprise, that she was glowing slightly. She smiled, looking satisfied, and knelt down beside the cowering figure that was Pitch.

Or was it?

Tooth bent down too, looking into the face of the man who had once been her enemy. But no longer. Pitch's skin was nearly as white as Jack's and his eyes, instead of being the twin golden eclipses they had been before, they were a deep shade of green. His hair had changed too; before, it had been completely black and slicked back in spikes. Now it was still slicked back, but it was bright golden and a little shorter. He was still curled up into a terrified ball, but Tooth could clearly see that the black robe had been stripped away to reveal a body covered in gleaming golden armor.

Tooth gaped. She'd never seen anything like this. The craftsmanship was so beautiful and when Autumn grabbed his arm and helped him up, she almost fainted. Pitch was wearing an intricately-patterned golden chest plate with golden link-chain mail and a gleaming white shirt beneath it. On his arms were strapped golden gauntlets and as her gaze traveled down, she could see more golden armor in the form of a pair of bracers molded to his legs and more link chain mail gleaming underneath. When he straightened up, he looked magnificent.

Tooth couldn't speak. She could only stare in amazement. Pitch Black wasn't Pitch Black anymore. He was Kozmotis Pitchner, the warrior of old. Surprisingly, he didn't look too happy about it.

"What- what did you do to me?" he whispered, staring at his white hands.

Autumn's form flickered as she answered, blinking from blue air to her human form. "I've taken Pitch Black away. You are now-" Autumn suddenly convulsed, almost bending backwards in pain. Tooth's eyes widened and she wondered what the heck was going on.

Autumn closed her eyes against the pain and gritted her teeth. Tooth vastly disapproved of this as a habit but, considering the girl was in violent pain, she wasn't too worried about it. When she woke up, Tooth would forgive her.

Kozmotis was still looking at his hands in shock when she started to scream, a high-pitched keening sound that seemed better suited for a dog whistle. He tore his eyes away from his hands and stared at Autumn with a mixture of fear and worry in his eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" he asked, moving over to stand over Autumn, who was now on the ground twitching randomly.

_It's your power, _Manny said.

Tooth and Kozmotis both looked up, staring at Manny in horror. "You mean-" Tooth said but Kozmotis interrupted her.

"Who are you?" he asked. Tooth frowned. He didn't remember?

_It will take a while for you to remember all your memories from before, but you must remember now that I am the Man in the Moon and this is Autumn. She has made a great sacrifice for you._

Kozmotis glanced back at Autumn. "I- I think I remember." he said hesitantly, looking back up at the Moon. "Wind. There was. . . something about wind."

_She took your powers. _Manny said. _She made a great sacrifice so that you could live as you were once before and she could be the new Nightmare_ _Queen_

Kozmotis's eyes widened. "Oh god, she didn't!" he gasped, whirling around and kneeling at her side. "Please, tell me you didn't do it!" he begged, shaking her shoulders.

_She did. _Manny said.

"But- but it's killing her!" Kozmotis stammered, looking desperately from Manny to Autumn. "The Fearlings, the darkness, no child should have to bear that! It's eating her from the inside out!" Tooth felt her heart might break from the emotion. _What was happening?!_ How could Manny have allowed Autumn to take the power if he knew it would destroy her?!

As Tooth and Kozmotis both watched, Autumn's body began to darken. First it was her fingertips and her hands turning ashen gray, just like Pitch's had been, then her clothes began to turn black as night. The darkness that had eaten away at Pitch for so long was obviously ecstatic to have a new source to prey on and Tooth watched, utterly petrified by horror, as it ate away at her brown skin like a creeping fungus.

Her brown hair began to turn black at the roots and Tooth saw her eyes, wide and terrified, were being destroyed by blackness. First the whites, then the iris, then the black melded with her pupils. It was horrifying to watch, like a virus was spreading through her body. Autumn couldn't scream, she couldn't move. She just stared blankly up at them, with what was left of her eyes wide and silently pleading for aid.

Pure evil was eating the poor girl alive and Tooth couldn't do _anything_ to stop it!

"It's just a memory," she whispered to herself, rubbing her hand up and down her arms. "Something had obviously happened to change it or I wouldn't be in this memory today."

_She chose to make that sacrifice. _Manny said solemnly. _She chose to take your power so that someone who might have a chance at a new life would. I cannot stop my children's decisions. I can only take heart that they believe in themselves._

"But she's _dying_! The power is too much for her!" Kozmotis said desperately, staring up at the moon with wide green eyes. He was beginning to cry now. Tooth felt her heart swell with emotions and she burst into tears. She couldn't help it! Fear for Autumn, pity for her and Kozmotis, joy that Kozmotis was back, anger at the moon for allowing Autumn to take the Fearlings that had plagued Pitch into her body and mind, horror at the transformation that was happening to the girl, pride that she would leave her life to safe someone she just met, and a hundred other emotions that made her chest ache.

_She is not dying. _Manny said. It scared Tooth how cold his voice was. _She is simply shutting down so that her body can make new adjustments to accommodate your power._

Tooth was sobbing openly now. It was just too overpowering and she wished she could have been there to help!

Kozmotis's eyes were glued to Autumn's face. There was only the small area between her eyes and her nose free of the blackness that had completely transformed the rest of her. She wasn't thrashing or kicking anymore. She was deathly still. Suddenly, Kozmotis looked up at the Moon and shouted, in a voice laced with panic, "I want to take it back!"

Tooth saw the blackness that was eating away at the center of Autumn's face stop, as if intrigued.

_You want to take it back?_ Manny asked. Tooth's breath caught in her throat and she watched with rapt attention. Her tears stopped flowing and she rubbed her eyes furiously, so as not to miss anything.

"I want to take it back!" Kozmotis said firmly. His voice was much stronger now, and Tooth saw a hint of the old general in there. "It's too much for her, and if she _does_ live through getting their powers. . ." he trailed off, looking at Autumn's gray face and black hair. Then he reached down and stroked it, like a scared father at the bedside of a sick child. "I can't live with knowing I burdened a _child _with the loneliness and responsibilities of being the one thing unloved by all. I just can't!" he choked on the last words and Tooth felt her heart well with- well, honestly, her emotions were so garbled she had no idea what they were. Pride, joy, happiness, and maybe a little bit of doubt?

_Good._ Manny said._ Then some of the old you is still there, Kozmotis. The old you that had compassion for humankind and other beings. The you that saved lives. Granted, you may have saved lives as the Boogeyman, but it's not the same. Kozmotis, if I help her give you your power back, will you promise to keep the children of the world safe once more?_

Kozmotis didn't even hesitate. He nodded. Then a spark of Pitch Black surfaced in the form of a familiar smirk. "What do you think I've been doing for the last ten thousand years?" he asked, looking up at the moon.

Tooth imagined Manny smiling again. _ Good. now, here's what you have to do, before it's too late and the Fearlings infest her heart forever.: take her hands and press them to her mouth, then press them to your heart. The Fearlings can understand everything You have been saying, so they know that you want them back, but be prepared for a fight. They will not want to go back into the old husk of a shell they've already corrupted._

"Should I take that as an insult or a compliment?" Kozmotis asked, picking up Autumn's hands and pressing them to her mouth,

_Take it as both. Take it as neither. _Manny said. _Just know that I am proud of you._

Kozmotis nodded. "Yes, a fat load of good that will do when I'm turned back into that monster." he muttered, pressing the hands of the girl who saved him to his gold-plated chest.

_I think you'll be surprised, Kozmotis. The tiniest thing can change a man._

"Yes," Kozmotis gasped as the Fearlings surged out of Autumn and into him. "But I'm not- man!"

_Not anymore._

Ten minutes later, Pitch was slowly regaining his powers and Autumn was slowly regaining hers. Manny had gone, and the two were sitting on the ground with several feet between them. Neither of them spoke.

Tooth, who's brain was reeling from what she'd just saw, was flitting around nervously and trying to make sense of what she'd seen, working backwards from the time she'd gotten into the dream to the current time.

"OK," she said, hovering in mid-air directly between Pitch and Autumn. "Firstly: Autumn is not the Man in the Moon's daughter. We all are the children of our creators. Secondly: Pitch is a good spirit, however much we think he's not. He's just misunderstood and he truly does care for children. Third: Jack's little sister believes in the Boogeyman. Fourthly-" but she was interrupted by Pitch, who was back to his usual Black self, asking Autumn a question.

"What did it feel like?" he asked. Of course he knew what it had felt like for _him_, but he'd been forced to take in the dark or die. He wanted to know what it felt like to take in the power willingly.

Autumn looked up and said shakily, "Like I was being smothered by a huge dark wave. Every time I tried to take a breath I was stopped by another even bigger wave pounding on top of me."

Pitch nodded. He probably understood exactly how she felt. "Did you like the feeling of the power?" he inquired.

Autumn shook her head and shivered. "_No._ I _never_ want to fell anything like that _ever_ _again_."

Pitch nodded as if this satisfied him. "Good. Then you're still a good spirit. If you'd said you did like it, then I would've had to recruit you for my army of Fearlings and you would've never felt human again."

Autumn raised an eyebrow, wondering if he was joking. Tooth frowned, sure he wasn't.

"What about you?" she asked after a bit. "Did it feel good being Kozmotis again?"

Pitch looked down at his hands and said, "No."

Both Tooth and Autumn were shocked by this. "_No_?" they said together in disbelief.

Pitch shook his head. "No."

Autumn stood carefully and walked a few steps closer to him. She seemed reluctant to go any closer and Pitch let out a barking laugh. "I don't have my powers completely, Autumn. If you want to ask me a question the least you can do is come closer so that I don't have to shout."

Tooth giggled. "Yup. Still the same old Pitch."

Autumn walked a few more steps closer and sat down about two feet from Pitch, still slightly wary. "So, why didn't you enjoy your moment of freedom?" she asked cautiously. Tooth could understand why. Pitch's temper was legendary and it could be kindled with a single word.

Pitch turned his head and looked at Autumn with his cool golden eyes. "It didn't feel good because. . . I know that's not me anymore." he said slowly, as if trying to say the words for the first time. "I am Pitch Black, just like I _was_ Kozmotis Pitchiner."

Both Tooth and Autumn let out laughs and, when faced with Pitch's glowering look, Autumn tried to cover hers up with a cough. "Ahem. Sorry. The last name was just, ah... never mind. Go on."

Tooth was still laughing so she almost didn't catch the rest of Pitch's words.

"When I was Kozmotis, I helped people by battling darkness. Now that I'm Pitch Black, I do the same thing. . . I just use different methods."

Tooth thought she understood where Pitch was going with this and Autumn voiced her thoughts aloud.

"You couldn't be the you then, because you had a different duty then." she said.

Pitch nodded. "Yes, exactly. My duty was to protect people by fighting the bad things and locking them all away. Now my job is to use the bad things to help children learn."

Autumn scooted closer until she was right next to him and bumped his shoulder gently."So I guess you really are Pitch Black." she said.

Pitch gave an evil grin and bumped her back. "Now and forever." he said.

Tooth watched them sit for a little while longer, talking, asking questions and answering them. Mainly the questions came from Autumn ans revolved around Pitch's former life.

"Did you really have a daughter?"

"Yes. My Seraphina." Pitch said.

"How old was she when you. . ."

"Seven." Pitch answered shortly.

"What happened to her?"

"She became Mother Nature."

Tooth gaped and Autumn blinked. "Really? Wow. So, wait. . . if I'm- then she's... and you're-!"

Pitch looked at her quizzically. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh boy. Oh boy oh boy, that's freaking hilarious." Autumn chortled, leaning her head against her knees.

"What?" Pitch demanded.

She stopped laughing for a minute and raised her head to look at him. Her eyes were shining with mirth. "If Mother Nature is your daughter, and I'm a seasonal spirit, that means I'm her daughter and you're my grandfather! HA! No wonder we connected!"

Pitch face-palmed. "Oh moon. First you say I'm your _brother_, then you say I'm your _grandfather_. What next? Father?"

"Don't be silly." Autumn said, punching him on the shoulder. "It's perfectly logical."

"Actually, it's not." Pitch said. "First of all, I'm not the son of the moon. He didn't create me. He created Kozmotis. The Fearlings created me. We are completely different people. I may agree that, through some twisted genealogy, I could be possibly considered your grandfather, but definitely not your brother."

Tooth giggled. "Well, you've got yourself a pretty dysfunctional family Pitch." she said. Then, as an afterthought, "Then again, the Guardians are a pretty dysfunctional family any too."

"OK then Gramps!" Autumn said brightly.

Pitch growled. "Don't call me that."

"Would you prefer Grandpa Booger?" she asked innocently.

"NO!"

Both Tooth and Autumn lapsed into helpless giggles and Pitch rolled his eyes. "Females." he muttered.

After Tooth and Autumn's giggle-fest had subsided, Pitch stood up and said, "This has been. . . an eventful night, but I must be going. I have many places to be before sunrise."

Autumn nodded and, using Pitch's hand as a brace, pulled herself up.

"Well, I've got to be going too. So many places to be." Autumn said, letting go of his hand.

Pitch looked straight into her eyes and Tooth could see the gratitude that passed between them. They were both grateful to the other and it showed.

They stood awkwardly for a second, then Autumn turned to leave.

"Ah, Autumn, before you go," Pitch said, raising a hand to stop her. She half-turned and looked at him. He coughed. "Ahem. I would just like to say... ah..." he trailed off, not knowing how to say this right.

"Thank you?" Autumn ventured, smiling. She turned around to face him once more and walked back until she was standing in front of him. "It's alright, I need to say it too. Thank you, Pitch Black, Nightmare King."

She stuck out her hand and, without thinking, Pitch grabbed it and shook it gently. "Yes, thank you. Thank you so much."

They stood there for another moment, then, without warning, Autumn threw her arms around Pitch's neck and hugged him. Tooth wasn't all that shocked. After all, he _had _saved her from becoming the Boogeyman. Boogeywoman? Whatever.

Pitch was too surprised to move for about a second, then he laid an hand on her hair and the other on her back, hugging her back. "Your welcome Autumn." Pitch said, allowing her to nuzzle against him like a little kitten. Tooth's eyes brimmed with tears, but these were tears of joy, not sorrow.

"Awwwwwww! That's so cuuuuute!" she cooed, clasping her hands together and wishing she could really be there when this had happened.

After another minute, they broke away and Pitch held her as arm's length, smiling. "If you ever need help," he said, looking into her eyes sternly. "You can call me."

"Oh, ditto. Call me any time!" Autumn said, smiling brightly. Then she pulled away and began to run, gaining speed rapidly and then making a huge leap into the air. Tooth and Pitch watched, stunned, as she began to rise up to the sky. When she got to the tops of the trees she turned around and, balances on the tip of a fir, called with both hands cupped over her mouth, "See you later, _Grandpa Booger_."

Pitch rolled his eyes again disappeared into the shadows of the night.


End file.
